Luxembourg Gnome Mythology

Little Gnomes of Wîterchesberg

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Greiweldingen Gnomes, Wîterchesberg Wichtelcher
Category: Gnome

The Myth

In a forest near Greiweldingen stands a hill called Wîterchesberg. There, a cave is said to serve as a hidden entrance to the dwelling of the little gnomes.

Once, a cowherd drove his animals to graze on the hill and sat down near the cave to rest. As he sat, he heard the clattering of the little creatures within. Looking inside, he saw them preparing their soup. Hungry and poor, the man begged them for something to eat. “If you are sent by God,” he said, “give me a piece of bread.”

A group of gnomes came out of the cave and gave him half a loaf, saying, “If you do not betray us, you will always have bread.” The herdsman returned home joyfully. For several days he ate from the loaf, and it never seemed to grow smaller.

At last his wife asked him where he had obtained such wonderful bread. He told her, but only after she promised to keep the secret. Later, during a quarrel, she carelessly revealed the truth. From that moment on, the bread began to shrink and was soon entirely gone.

Old people later claimed that they had seen swarms of gnomes come out to the edge of the forest to sun themselves. It was also said that when a cart passed through the forest, the little creatures would cling to it, even to the wheels, and be carried along the road.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Die Wichtlein zu Greiweldingen. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Wichtlein_Greiweldingen.html

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Nenning Gnome

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Nennig Gnomes, Wichtelknäppchen Gnomes
Category: Gnome

The Myth

Near Nennig there stands a small mound of earth known as the Wichtelknäppchen, the Little Gnome’s Hill. Long ago, a woman was carrying supper there on the Saturday of the village fair for her people.

Among the food she carried was a cake that had come fresh from the oven only an hour before, and its scent drifted strongly through the air. The smell tempted the gnomes who lived inside the mound, and they came out of their hole and called to her, “Woman! Bake me a cake! Bake me a cake!”

But the women of Nennig were known to be quick of tongue, and this one turned sharply and answered, “First you bake your gnome cake, and then you call us to the fair. When are you celebrating your fair?”

This reply angered the gnomes greatly, though they had long done much good in the region. From that day on, they never returned.

The woman also vanished. It is said that on clear nights she can still be seen passing by with her basket, while the gnomes dance upon the hill in the bright moonlight and mock her, crying, “Bake me a cake! Bake me a cake!”

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Das Wichtelknäppchen bei Nennig. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Wichtlein_Nenning.html

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Wichtelcher of Stoppelhof

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Stoppelhof Gnomes, Wichtelhäusercher Gnomes
Category: Gnome

The Myth

Between Konsdorfermühle, Dosterter Hof, and Kalkesbach, about a thousand meters above Konsdorfermühle, lies a field known as the Wichtelhäusercher, the field of the gnome houses. It was said that the Wichtelcher once lived there, little men who did only good for people.

In this field, small underground dwellings could indeed be found, built of a kind of brick and hidden beneath the earth. The gnomes who lived there were known to help the farmers working nearby.

When a farmer plowed the field, the little folk would sometimes share their freshly baked bread with him. Without being seen, they would place a loaf at the end of the furrow, where the farmer would find it as he worked.

Today, the Wichtelcher have disappeared, and only the place name and the traces of their small dwellings remain.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Die Wichtelcher zu Stoppelhof. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Wichtlein_Stoppelhof.html

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Gnome of Krügheck

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Berdorf Gnomes, Krügheck Wichtelcher
Category: Gnome

The Myth

In the Krügheck area near Berdorf, little gnomes were once said to have lived among the old stonework there.

One day, a farmhand from Spelleschhaus was plowing a field near the Krügheck. As he turned his plow at the edge of the woods, he heard soft voices calling from inside the stones: “Mother, bake me a pancake too!”

Laughing, the farmhand called back, “Then bake me one too!” He urged his horses forward and continued his work.

When he returned to the same place, he saw a pancake lying neatly on a cloth spread upon the ground. He ate it with great appetite. When he passed the spot again later, the cloth had disappeared.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Die Wichtelmännchen bei Berdorf. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Wichtlein_Berdorf.html

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Gnome of Warken

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Warken Dwarves, Hard Hill Gnomes
Category: Gnome

The Myth

Between Erpeldingen and Warken, it was said that underground passages ran through the mountain, built and inhabited by dwarves. Above this hidden dwelling rose the Hard hill.

At Warken, the gnomes were believed to have one of their entrances at a place called Wöllen hirer Tâk. Another exit lay at the so-called Fûszelach in the Hohlbech, opposite Erpeldingen.

These little beings were known to help people quietly and generously. They brought grain into the barn, flour to the mill, and bacon into the cupboard. They also once rewarded a man who was plowing on the Hard by giving him a tarte flambée.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Die Wichtelcher zu Warken. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Wichtlein_Warken.html

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Gnome of Ranker Delt

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Esch-sur-Sûre Gnome, Ranker Delt Gnome
Category: Gnome

The Myth

Many years ago, when gnomes were still said to live in the Ranker Delt a short distance south of Esch-sur-Sûre, two farmhands were plowing with their horses near a rock where the little beings had made their home.

As they worked, they suddenly heard a voice calling from inside the rock: “Bread! Bread!” One of the farmhands jokingly shouted back, “Cake! Cake!”

They continued plowing and soon turned back along the next furrow. When they came again to the same place, they found a large white napkin spread out on the ground. Upon it lay a fine cake, and beside it a knife.

“Should we eat the cake or not?” asked the older of the two.
“Why not?” replied the other. “The gnomes put it there so we could eat it.”

So they ate the cake completely and left the napkin where it lay. After plowing another furrow, they returned to the spot, but everything had been cleared away.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Wichtlein bei Esch an der Sauer. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Wichtlein_Esch_Sauer.html

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Gnome of the Kâtzelê

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Kâtzelê Gnomes, Lulzhausen Rock Gnomes
Category: Gnome

The Myth

Near the village of Lulzhausen stands a high rock known as the Kâtzelê, where little gnomes were once said to live.

They were especially fond of a certain man from Esch. Whenever he drove his two horses, one red and one white, into the area near the rock in the evening and fell asleep, he would later wake to find that the white horse had been carefully groomed and cleaned. The red horse, however, was always left just as it had been. This happened every time he came near the Kâtzelê.

Another time, a farmhand was passing the Kâtzelê stream on his way to plow. As he went by, he heard voices from within the rocks calling out, “Bake me a cake too!” Laughing, he called back, “Bake me one too!” and continued on his way without giving the matter further thought.

But before an hour had passed, a little man came running up to him, placed a small, freshly baked cake on his plow, and quickly disappeared again.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Die Wichtelcher in der Kâtzelê. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Wichtlein_Katzele.html

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Gnome of Vichten

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Vichten Dwarves, Vichten Gnomes
Category: Gnome

The Myth

In Vichten, people once said the dwellings of the gnomes could still be seen. They appeared as small underground chambers or little wells beneath the ground. One man, believing he had discovered a hidden treasure, began digging in his garden and uncovered one of these untouched underground rooms. It was said that little gnomes had lived there, beings who were known only for doing good to humans.

Not long ago, there lived in Vichten a man who, as a child, had been cared for by the gnomes themselves. On Sunday mornings, when his family went to church, the little folk would quietly enter the house, rock the child in his cradle, and feed the horses and cows in the stable.

Another farmer, while plowing his field, once heard the sound of kitchen utensils clattering beneath the soil. Laughing, he called out, “Hey, bake me a cake too!” When he turned his plow and passed the place again, he found a small cake lying on a clean cloth spread on the ground, which he ate with pleasure.

It was also said that near Vichten, along the road to Bissen where old ruins stand, there had once been the palace of the dwarves, and that Vichten itself had been their capital. There ruled a king named Shaddaï, who governed the dwarven people peacefully until a rebellion broke out among them and cost him his life.

Other dwarves were believed to live in underground tunnels beneath the Scheuerbusch. They were said to be extremely rich, so wealthy that they fed gold to their mice, and some claimed to have seen the animals running about gnawing on gold coins.

The dwarves of Vichten were considered richer than all the rest. One of them once boasted to a dwarf beneath the Scheuerburg castle in the Scheuerbusch forest, saying, “If you plow your fields with silver plowshares, then we plow ours with golden ones.” Among their privileges, the Vichten dwarves were also said to have the right to demand from a certain house in the village an entire oven of bread cake every Saturday.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Die Wichtelcher zu Vichten. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Wichtlein_Vichten.html

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Gnome of the Wîchtelheiser

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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

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Gnome of the Goldkaul

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Goldkaul Wichtelcher, Kehlen Gnomes
Category: Gnome

The Myth

In a hollow called the Goldkaul, near the Kehlbach stream by Kehlen, there once lived the Wichtelcher, little gnomes whose underground tunnels were said to stretch from the hollow to the nearby Ehlbusch forest.

These small beings were known to help people with their work. At night, they would quietly enter a farmer’s barn and thresh his grain. They did this for a long time, unseen and without asking for anything in return.

One evening, however, a farmhand felt pity for them and placed food out for them while they worked. From that moment on, the Wichtelcher never returned.

Farmers who plowed fields near the Goldkaul sometimes heard the gnome children calling to their mother as she baked: “I want a cake too! I want a cake too!” If a farmer then called out jokingly, “I want a cake too!”, he would find a cake lying on his plowshare the next morning when he came back to the field.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Die Wichtelcher in der Goldkaul. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Wichtlein_Goldkaul.html

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