Tradition: Swiss Mythology
Alternative Names: The Mountain Men of Bösälgäu
Category: Dwarf
The Myth
The mountain dwarfs of Bösälgäu lived among the high mountains of the Bernese Oberland, where an ancient city once stood on the mountain terrace where only small alpine huts remain today. The dwarfs were said to protect the city and occasionally came down from the mountains to visit its people. They helped the inhabitants, encouraged peace and unity, and watched over the city as long as its people lived well together.
But eventually greed, arrogance, quarrels, and immorality spread through the city. The mountain dwarfs saw what was happening and warned the inhabitants that disaster was coming. Their terrible warning was:
“D’Furggefluh is split,
Schlegel and Wegge are cold,
whoever wants to flee, run!”
Those who understood the warning fled from the city as quickly as they could. The others remained behind, and soon the mountains themselves seemed to turn against them. The city collapsed beneath a tremendous fall of rock, burying its inhabitants beneath the rubble. The old city disappeared completely, leaving only the small mounds of earth that shepherds later pointed out as the supposed remains of its walls.
After the destruction of Bösälgäu, the mountain dwarfs vanished as well. They were never again seen among the people, and the ancient city remained buried beneath the mountains.
Sources
Theodor Vernaleken. “Böselgäu.” In Kinder- und Hausmärchen in den Alpenländern. Vienna, 1863. Reproduced by SAGEN.at. https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/vernaleken/boeselgaeu.html