Tradition: German Mythology
Alternative Names: Dragon of Geißalpsee
Category: Dragon
The Myth
High in the mountains above Reichenbach and Häuser lies the Geißalpsee, a remote alpine lake in whose depths a dragon lies sleeping.
The creature remains hidden beneath the waters, but its eventual awakening is feared. If the dragon ever “flies out” from the lake, the waters of the Geißalpsee will burst forth in a catastrophic flood.
The flood is said to bring destruction upon Fischen, leaving the surrounding land in ruins. The devastation will continue until a miraculous sign appears: willow branches will grow upon the high altar of the parish church at Weiden.
Until that impossible growth takes place, the ruined land will remain desolate. The dragon therefore sleeps beneath the mountain lake as a dormant threat, and its departure would unleash a flood whose consequences would last until the fulfillment of the strange prophecy.
Sources
“Der Geißalpsee.” SAGEN.at – Traditionelle Sagen aus Deutschland (Bayern, Allgäu). Reproduced by SAGEN.at.
https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/deutschland/bayern/allgaeu/geissalpsee.html