Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Wichtelcher of Schaar, Gnomes of op de Wîchtelheiser
Category: Gnome
The Myth
Between Ermsdorf and Folkendingen, about a quarter of an hour’s walk toward the left bank of the White Ernz, lies a place on the Schaar that is still called op de Wîchtelheiser, the place of the gnome houses. It is said that long ago little gnomes lived there, and that their underground dwellings once stretched beneath the ground. People even claimed that remains of these small homes were found, built of tiny, finely made bricks.
In those days, a girl from one of the nearby villages was chosen to be the godmother of a child belonging to one of the gnomes. Without telling her parents, she went to their hidden dwellings. The little folk welcomed her warmly, and she spent a wonderful time among them.
At last she began to fear that night would soon fall and her parents would worry about her, so she set out to return home. But when she arrived, everything seemed changed. Entering her father’s house, she saw her mother, who looked entirely different. Her hair had turned white and her strength had faded.
Only then did the girl learn that she had been gone for thirteen years and had long been believed dead.
Gallery
Sources
sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Die Wichtelcher zwischen Folkendingen und Ermsdorf. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Wichtlein_Folkendingen.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
Other
- How to Invite The Gnome of the Wîchtelheiser