Tradition: Swiss Mythology
Alternative Names: Der Fischer am Rheinfall
Category: Nymph
The Myth
Long ago, near the mighty Rhine Falls in Schaffhausen, a young fisherman lived beside the river. One evening, after a successful day of fishing, he guided his boat along the water, his fish box filled with fine catches. As twilight descended, mist gathered among the willows and alders, and the tired fisherman lay down in his boat, allowing the gentle current to carry him home.
As he drifted along, he soon fell into a deep sleep. At first, he dreamed of his beloved, imagining her emerging from the trees. But gradually the sounds around him changed. A distant growl became a thunderous rumble, and in his dream a terrible storm arose. Violent winds whipped rain through the air, while thunder roared across the heavens.
Suddenly, the fisherman awoke in terror. His boat had been seized by the enormous current of the Rhine Falls and was racing towards the abyss. He cried out to God for help, but the roaring water swallowed his voice. Clinging desperately to the boat, he was tossed through the violent torrents until he lost consciousness.
When he awoke, he found himself and his boat washed safely onto the shore. The rising moon illuminated the waterfall, transforming its rushing waters into countless streams of silver. Foam and spray rose like ghostly veils from the depths. Astonished that he had survived, the fisherman gathered his catch and hurried home.
The following day, he sat among other fishermen at a local inn and proudly recounted his extraordinary journey over the waterfall. At first, nobody believed him. But as he drank more wine, his boasting grew bolder. He declared that he would willingly make the same journey again, certain that he could repeat his remarkable escape.
An old man warned him against such recklessness, urging him to thank God for his survival rather than challenge fate. The fisherman laughed at the warning. At another table, however, sat a mysterious stranger with sinister eyes. Rising with a shrill laugh, he offered the fisherman a hundred guilders if he dared to repeat his dangerous voyage. Without hesitation, the young man accepted.
The stranger and the other patrons followed him to the riverbank. Before anyone could stop him, the fisherman climbed into his boat and pushed away from shore. The Rhine Falls thundered nearby, and the onlookers watched in mounting horror. Only the sinister stranger seemed pleased.
The fisherman rowed hard, but soon the current seized his boat and carried it forward with terrifying force. He struggled to control his vessel, yet the river seemed to have a will of its own. Before he could finish reciting the Lord’s Prayer, the boat was racing towards the waterfall. Desperate to turn away, he fought against the current, but the steering oar no longer obeyed him. The raging flood eventually wrenched the remaining oars from his grasp.
Then the rocks in the middle of the river emerged from the water. A final, pitiful cry rose above the thunder of the falls as the boat shot past the rocks and plunged into the churning white water. The fishermen rushed downstream and searched the foaming waters, but neither the young man nor his boat ever reappeared.
When they turned to find the sinister stranger who had encouraged the reckless voyage, he had vanished. Nobody could discover who he was or where he had gone.
Ever since that day, people have claimed that on moonlit nights a misty little boat can sometimes be seen gliding between the rocky reefs of the Rhine Falls. A shadowy ferryman guides it through the milk-white torrents before it disappears into the roaring depths. Some imagine a supernatural woman in the drifting mist, a mysterious presence watching over the river and its doomed waters. Whether this apparition is connected to the unfortunate fisherman or to the sinister stranger who led him to his death remains unknown.
Sources
Sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Fischer am Rheinfall. In Sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/schweiz/allgemein/fischer_rheinfall.html