Tradition: Liechtenstein Mythology
Alternative Names: The Ghost of Bergi
Category: Ghost
The Myth
The Bergi Woman is the restless spirit of a woman who committed a terrible deed in the mountains near Triesenberg, Liechtenstein. In ancient times, farmers lived on Bergi, also known as the Bergle Alp. Among them was a woman who gave birth to a child she did not want. Carrying the infant and a hoe, she descended from the mountain and crossed a footbridge toward Valorsch.
In a secluded place, the woman dug a hole with her hoe, laid the child inside, and covered it with earth. She abandoned the infant there and returned from the mountains, but her terrible deed would not go unpunished.
The woman died soon afterward, but her spirit was condemned to atone for her crime at the very place where she had buried her child. Every night, she must descend from Bergi and travel through Valorsch, carrying the same hoe in her hand. She returns to the spot where the child lies buried, repeating her sorrowful journey night after night for all eternity.
Sources
“Das Bergi-Wiebi.” SAGEN.at – Liechtensteiner Sagen, collected by Otto Seger. Reproduced by SAGEN.at. https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/liechtenstein/seger/bergiwiebi.html