Tradition: Swiss Mythology
Alternative Names: The Bride of Windegg Castle, Berta von Windegg
Category: Ghost
The Myth
Berta von Windegg is the ghostly bride of Windegg Castle in the Glarus region of Switzerland. She appears as a beautiful, pale maiden with curly hair and an enigmatic silence. Although she wears the appearance of a living noblewoman, her hands are ice-cold, and her true nature becomes apparent when she leads a prospective bridegroom into the castle chapel, where the tombs of her dead ancestors awaken. Berta is the last of her noble line and remains trapped in the ruined castle, waiting for someone who can finally redeem her.
One night, a poor knight named Kunz von Stein arrives at Windegg Castle seeking shelter. Despite its ruined exterior, he discovers an illuminated ballroom filled with splendid decorations, fine food, and wine. There he meets Berta, who silently welcomes him to the table. She answers his questions only by nodding, but Kunz learns that she is unmarried and appears to possess the entire estate. Hoping to gain both a wealthy wife and a noble inheritance, he declares his love and asks her to marry him. Berta agrees, places a golden ring on his finger, and accepts the ring he gives her in return. Although her icy hands make him shudder, Kunz suppresses his unease and follows her through dark corridors into the castle chapel.
Inside, the knight witnesses a terrifying spectacle. Berta approaches the tombs of her ancestors and touches the stone effigies lying upon them. One after another, the figures rise from their sarcophagi, their armor rattling and their garments rustling as they gather around the altar. An aged priest appears and asks Kunz whether he will take Berta von Windegg, the last of her line, as his wife. Paralyzed by terror, Kunz cannot answer. As the priest prepares to bless the couple, a rooster crows nearby. Berta cries out that she has not yet been redeemed, and the assembled knights and noblewomen immediately return to their tombs, becoming stone once more.
A sudden gust of wind carries Kunz out of the castle, where he collapses beside his horse. When he awakens, Windegg has become nothing more than an empty, crumbling ruin in the morning light. Unable to forget Berta or the bride he had failed to save, Kunz renounces worldly life and enters a monastery, placing his golden betrothal ring on the altar. He eventually dies at a very old age, but Berta remains at Windegg Castle, still waiting for the savior who will release her from her ghostly existence.
Sources
“Die tote Braut.” SAGEN.at – Schweizer Sagen. Reproduced by SAGEN.at. https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/schweiz/allgemein/tote_braut.html