Tradition: Austrian Mythology
Alternative names: –
Category: Cow
The Myth
In the Glödnitz Valley, near the place known as the “Bauer im Ort,” there is a location called the Stiertratte.
According to the legend, a group of arrogant miners once committed a cruel act against a living bull. They skinned the animal alive and drove it to Weitensfeld for people to see. They then spread the bull’s hide out at the location of the Stiertratte and played dice upon it.
As an eternal disgrace and punishment for their arrogance and cruelty, not a single blade of grass has grown at the place ever since.
The story therefore explains the existence of the barren patch of land known as the Stiertratte as a supernatural punishment for the miners’ mistreatment of the bull.
Sources
Rappold, J. “Die Stiertratte.” In Sagen aus Kärnten. Augsburg and Leipzig, 1887, no. 17, p. 23. Reproduced by SAGEN.at. Accessed August 29, 2026. https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/oesterreich/kaernten/allgemein/stiertratte.html