Mythology

Gnome of Hinterberg

by

Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Niederfeulen Gnomes, Hinterberg Wichtelcher
Category: Gnome

The Myth

In the region around the village of Niederfeulen, in a place called Hinterberg, little gnomes were once said to live in caves deep beneath the earth. They were scarcely taller than a child of eight years, were never seen during the day, and only came out at night. They were said to run faster than the swiftest horse.

To housewives who treated them kindly, they spun the finest yarn. They gathered the yarn themselves and returned it unseen, no matter how closely people tried to watch them. But anyone who wronged them or bore them ill will was robbed by them whenever they had the chance, and the stolen goods were kept in their underground cave.

Once a very strong man caught one of the little gnomes who had taken a loaf of bread from him. He held the creature tightly and meant to punish it. But the gnome fought back fiercely, scratching at him and nearly clawing out his eyes. He would likely have killed the man had he not managed to escape.

After this, the people grew greatly afraid of the gnomes and gave them whatever they wanted.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Die Wichtelmännchen zu Niederfeulen. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Wichtlein_Niederfeulen.html

Interpretive Lenses

Religious Readings
  • Christian Ascetic Deep Dive
Philosophical Readings
  • Nietzschean Deep Dive
Psychological Readings
  • Jungian Deep Dive
Esoteric Deep Dive
  • Hermetic Deep Dive
Political / Social Readings
  • Marxist Deep Dive

Äschtercher of Useldingen

by

Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Useldingen Gnomes, Äschtercher
Category: Gnome, Forest dweller

The Myth

Between Useldingen and Ewerlingen, in the woods near the Lohmühle mill, little gnomes were said to live. The people of the area called them Äschtercher.

These small beings were known to frighten children who wandered too far into the woods. They were said to be especially drawn to those who bathed in the Attert River, where they would appear suddenly and startle them.

Thus the people spoke of the little gnomes of the forest, who lingered near the river and the mill and whose presence was feared by the young.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Die Wichtelcher zu Useldingen. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Wichtlein_Useldingen.html

Interpretive Lenses

Religious Readings
  • Christian Ascetic Deep Dive
Philosophical Readings
  • Nietzschean Deep Dive
Psychological Readings
  • Jungian Deep Dive
Esoteric Deep Dive
  • Hermetic Deep Dive
Political / Social Readings
  • Marxist Deep Dive

Gnome near Simmern

by

Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Simmern Gnomes, Griéfchen Gnomes
Category: Gnome

The Myth

Not far from the Griéfchen, a plateau-like hill near Greisch, a great number of gnomes were once said to live. They came out at night and secretly stole from the people, often taking their ripe grain from the fields.

At last the villagers resolved to put an end to this. They surprised the little thieves with a trick and stoned many of them to death. The place where this happened was afterwards said to have received the name Stênrausch, the Stone Rush.

Afterward, when most of the male gnomes had been destroyed, a single female gnome was said to remain for a long time. She lived alone in a rocky cave and was often seen, yet no one dared steal from her or harm her. The cave where she lived is still pointed out, as is the place where she kept her fire.

Because of her presence, the place came to be called Wölfragrond, the Wild Woman’s Ground.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Die Wichtlein bei Simmern. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Wichtlein_Simmern.html

Interpretive Lenses

Religious Readings
  • Christian Ascetic Deep Dive
Philosophical Readings
  • Nietzschean Deep Dive
Psychological Readings
  • Jungian Deep Dive
Esoteric Deep Dive
  • Hermetic Deep Dive
Political / Social Readings
  • Marxist Deep Dive

Wichtelcher of Walferdingen

by

Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Walferdingen Gnomes, Wichtelches Apartments
Category: Gnome

The Myth

Legend says that little gnomes once lived in the mountain above Walferdingen.

One morning, as several farmers were going out to their fields, they passed close to a small hole in the ground. From beneath it they heard giggling and other noises. Curious, they began to dig at once. Before long they broke through into a set of beautifully built underground rooms.

Inside they found many kitchen utensils and various household objects, which people said the gnomes had taken from human homes. They also discovered gold, which they carried with them to the fields and watched over carefully as they worked.

But when they returned home in the evening, the gold had vanished. They hurried back to the hole, only to find that the fine rooms they had seen before were gone. In their place were only ruins — everything broken and utterly destroyed.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Walferdingen. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Walferdingen.html

Interpretive Lenses

Religious Readings
  • Christian Ascetic Deep Dive
Philosophical Readings
  • Nietzschean Deep Dive
Psychological Readings
  • Jungian Deep Dive
Esoteric Deep Dive
  • Hermetic Deep Dive
Political / Social Readings
  • Marxist Deep Dive

Gnome of Dudelange

by

Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Dudelange Wichtelcher, House Gnomes of Dudelange
Category: Gnome

The Myth

An old man from Esch-sur-Alzette, seventy-five years of age, once told that he had seen the Wichtelcher in Dudelange. They were tiny little men who lived in a certain house there. He claimed that they once ran between his legs as he stood nearby.

According to him, the owner of the house had once plowed one furrow too many, committing what was seen as an unjust act. Because of this wrongdoing, the little gnomes abandoned the house and were never seen there again.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Die Wichtelcher zu Düdelingen. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Wichtlein_Duedelingen.html

Interpretive Lenses

Religious Readings
  • Christian Ascetic Deep Dive
Philosophical Readings
  • Nietzschean Deep Dive
Psychological Readings
  • Jungian Deep Dive
Esoteric Deep Dive
  • Hermetic Deep Dive
Political / Social Readings
  • Marxist Deep Dive

Gnome of Butchers’ Street

by

Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Luxembourg Baker’s Gnomes, Butchers’ Street Elves
Category: Gnome

The Myth

In Luxembourg City, on Butchers’ Street, there once lived a baker who had more work than he could possibly manage. He searched for journeymen to help him, but none could be found. Troubled and weary, he went to bed one evening with his work unfinished.

When he rose the next morning, he was astonished to find that all the baking had been done. The same thing happened the next day, and again on the third. During the night, unseen little elves had helped the baker and completed his work.

But on the fourth day, in a moment of frustration, the baker uttered a curse, crying out against all the devils of hell.

From that moment on, the little helpers never returned.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Die Wichtelcher zu Luxemburg. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Wichtlein_Luxemburg.html

Interpretive Lenses

Religious Readings
  • Christian Ascetic Deep Dive
Philosophical Readings
  • Nietzschean Deep Dive
Psychological Readings
  • Jungian Deep Dive
Esoteric Deep Dive
  • Hermetic Deep Dive
Political / Social Readings
  • Marxist Deep Dive

Gnome of Kalvergrond

by

Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Kalvergrond Gnomes, Kuborn Gnomes
Category: Gnome

The Myth

Between Eschdorf and Kuborn, in a small valley enclosed by two hills, stands a solitary rock known as Kalvergrond. According to the old people, little gnomes once lived there. Even today, their dwelling is said to be visible in the form of two small rooms carved into the rock.

In summer, the gnomes helped the people of nearby Kuborn with their fieldwork, and in winter they sewed and knitted for them. They were especially fond of a miller who lived below Brattert, in a place called Mühlengrund, where a mill once stood. Only a few heaps of stones remain of it today.

At night, when the miller fell asleep by the mill trough, the gnomes would come and grind the grain for him. But the miller’s curiosity drove them away. One evening he pretended to sleep so he could catch them in the act. The little men came as usual, filled the mill, and began their work. Suddenly the miller cried out, “Now I’ve caught you!”

Angered by this, the gnomes abandoned him. Soon the miller fell into poverty, and after his death no one wished to buy the mill, so it quickly fell into ruin.

From that time on, the gnomes no longer helped anyone. People often went to the rock hoping to see them, and this too embittered them. One morning they had vanished, and no one knew where they had gone. Yet their dwelling in the rock at Kalvergrond is still shown today.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Die Wichtelmännchen im Kalvergrond. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Wichtlein_Kalvergrond.html

Interpretive Lenses

Religious Readings
  • Christian Ascetic Deep Dive
Philosophical Readings
  • Nietzschean Deep Dive
Psychological Readings
  • Jungian Deep Dive
Esoteric Deep Dive
  • Hermetic Deep Dive
Political / Social Readings
  • Marxist Deep Dive

Gnome of Strassen

by

Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Strassen Gnomes, House Gnomes of Kempenhaus
Category: Gnome

The Myth

In Strassen there once lived a man who had fallen into poverty through no fault of his own. In the house where he lived — which is still known today — little gnomes came to help him. Each morning he found that the work in the house, the barn, and the fields had already been done. When winter came, the man placed clothes in the barn so the gnomes might protect themselves from the cold. But when the little beings saw the garments, they believed their service was no longer needed and disappeared from that time on.

In the same region, people also told of a farmer who was plowing his field when he heard voices calling from underground, “I want a cake too! I want a cake too!” Laughing, he called back, “I want a cake too!” The next morning he found a cake on his plow. He could cut from it as much as he wished, yet it was never more than half eaten.

Another tale tells that in Kempenhaus the little gnomes once carried out their helpful work at night. They fed the horses, threshed grain, churned butter, and even made shoes. One day food was placed out for them, and the little men grew sorrowful, believing that this meant they were being paid and that their help was no longer wanted. They left the house and went to Hiènenhaus, where they continued their work just as before.

But there, too, the housewife eventually said that the little gnomes must be given their dinner, and she set food out for them. After that, the gnomes vanished forever.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Die Wichtelcher zu Straßen. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Wichtlein_Strassen.html

Interpretive Lenses

Religious Readings
  • Christian Ascetic Deep Dive
Philosophical Readings
  • Nietzschean Deep Dive
Psychological Readings
  • Jungian Deep Dive
Esoteric Deep Dive
  • Hermetic Deep Dive
Political / Social Readings
  • Marxist Deep Dive

Gnome of Berg

by

Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Berg House Gnomes, Stable Gnomes of Berg
Category: Gnome

The Myth

In an old house in Berg, little gnomes were said to appear again and again in the stable. They fed the horses and made them grow strong and well-fed, even though they gave them no hay.

The people living in the house often saw the little beings in the manger. Noticing how poorly dressed they were, they felt pity for them. Wanting to show kindness, they had new clothes made and hung them on the manger for the gnomes.

Soon afterward, one night, the inhabitants heard the little creatures crying and wailing. They lamented that the people of the house no longer needed them and that they must now leave. They took the clothes with them, and from that time on they were never seen in the house again.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Die Wichtelmännchen zu Berg. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Wichtlein_Berg.html

Interpretive Lenses

Religious Readings
  • Christian Ascetic Deep Dive
Philosophical Readings
  • Nietzschean Deep Dive
Psychological Readings
  • Jungian Deep Dive
Esoteric Deep Dive
  • Hermetic Deep Dive
Political / Social Readings
  • Marxist Deep Dive

Wichtelcher of Kopstal

by

Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Kopstal Gnomes, Buchenfeld Wichtelcher
Category: Gnome

The Myth

In Kopstal, at a place called Buchenfeld, little gnomes were once said to live. People claimed to have seen them there, and later, when the ground was dug, tools were found that were believed to have belonged to them.

At night, the little beings would enter the stables and feed the livestock. Once, the farmhand of the farmer Schneidesch saw one of the gnomes sitting naked upon a cow. He told the farmer what he had seen.

The farmer decided to show kindness to the little man. One evening he left clothes for him in the stable. The next morning the clothes had vanished, and from that time on the gnomes were no longer seen there.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Wichtelcher zu Kopstal. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Wichtlein_Kopstal.html

Interpretive Lenses

Religious Readings
  • Christian Ascetic Deep Dive
Philosophical Readings
  • Nietzschean Deep Dive
Psychological Readings
  • Jungian Deep Dive
Esoteric Deep Dive
  • Hermetic Deep Dive
Political / Social Readings
  • Marxist Deep Dive