Tradition: German Mythology
Alternative names: Ochsenkopf
Category: Cow
The Myth
At the Brümmerhof, a historic farmstead dating from 1644 and now located on the grounds of the Agricultural Museum in Hösseringen, an ox head hangs in the gable.
According to the local legend, the ox head has an important protective function. If it were ever removed or disappeared, the farm’s livestock would begin to die one after another.
The deaths would occur in a particular order. The largest animals would die first, beginning with the horses. The deaths would then progress through the livestock until finally reaching the smallest animals, with the chickens dying last.
The legend therefore presents the ox head as a supernatural guardian of the farm’s animals. Its continued presence ensures their survival, while its disappearance would herald the destruction of the entire livestock.
Sources
Bengen, Etta, comp. “Der Ochsenkopf.” SAGEN.at – Traditionelle Sagen aus Deutschland, Niedersachsen. Source: Will-Erich Peukert, Niedersächsische Sagen I (Göttingen, 1964), p. 4. Accessed August 29, 2026. https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/deutschland/niedersachsen/bengen/ochsenkopf.html