Tradition: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternative Names: Dragon of the Burgbrunnen, Dragon of the Castle Well
Category: Dragon

The Myth

The dragon of the Burgbrunnen is the transformed spirit of a treacherous castle bailiff who guards a treasure at the bottom of the castle well. He appears as a supernatural guardian of the dark shaft, emerging from its depths on Good Friday at midnight.

On a dark and stormy night, the lady of Fels sat beside the cradle of her sleeping infant. Her thoughts wandered between her beloved child and her husband, who was away from the castle. Suddenly she heard the rattling and creaking of the drawbridge being lowered.

Believing that her husband had returned, she rushed to the window, hoping to see him through the darkness. Instead, a terrible uproar erupted in the courtyard. The sounds of clashing weapons, curses, and the groans of dying warriors filled the castle. A flash of lightning briefly illuminated the scene, revealing the truth: the Templars of Heringen, bitter enemies of her house, had seized the fortress and were already storming toward her chambers.

The woman seized her infant and fled toward a secret passage. But when she reached the courtyard, another flash of lightning revealed her pursuers closing in. With no escape left, she commended her soul to God and threw herself into the castle well with her child rather than allowing them to fall into the hands of the enemy.

Even the brutal victors were shaken by the courage of the mother. They pulled the bodies of the woman and her infant from the water. Then, seeking to shift the blame for the deaths of the innocent victims, they seized the castle bailiff—the man who had betrayed the fortress to them through bribery—and threw him into the same well.

The bailiff’s spirit was transformed into a dragon. Deep within the wet shaft of the castle well, he was condemned to guard the gold that had been the price of his betrayal.

Yet the dragon does not remain below forever. Every year, at midnight on Good Friday, he rises from the depths. On the deserted castle grounds, the Templars gather around the well and dance a hellish procession, led by the dragon who once betrayed the fortress.

Sources

La Fontaine, Edmond de. Luxemburger Sagen und Legenden. Luxemburg: Jos. Beffort, 1882.

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.

Dragon of Burgbrunnen

The Myth

Sources

Goldkaul Dragon

The Myth

Sources