Tradition: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternative Names: Goldkaul Dragon, Dragon of the Goldkaul
Category: Dragon
The Myth
The dragon of the Goldkaul guards a treasure buried deep beneath the earth near Consdorf. It has a fiery mouth and keeps the key to a chest filled with gold, guarding it from anyone who might try to claim the hidden riches.
Long ago, a knight’s castle stood on the land known as Burgkopf. A widow lived there with her daughter, and the two were constantly quarrelling. Although the daughter was still too young to marry, she desperately wanted a husband and demanded her inheritance in gold every day.
Her mother repeatedly refused. As their arguments grew more bitter, the widow finally lost her patience. She took a chest filled with money, threw it at her daughter’s feet, and cursed her to the depths of the earth.
The curse immediately came true. The greedy young woman disappeared into the ground together with her treasure chest, and even the nearby village of Eonsbrück vanished into the abyss. The place where everything disappeared became known as the Goldkaul.
Even in daylight, an eerie mist rises from the pit. It is said to be the breath of the unfortunate daughter—or the breath of the fierce dragon that guards her treasure. Deep underground, the dragon holds the key to the golden chest in its fiery jaws.
When the full moon shines at midnight, the shadowy figure of the cursed daughter can be seen flying from tree to tree. She still waits for someone to free her from the curse.
But the treasure and the girl’s release cannot be won by ordinary courage. Only someone in a state of grace, possessing holy courage, can descend into the Goldkaul and wrest the key from the dragon.
Sources
La Fontaine, Edmond de. Luxemburger Sagen und Legenden. Luxemburg: Jos. Beffort, 1882.