Tradition / Region: Swiss Mythology
Alternate Names: Silver Mountain Tree
Category: Plant, treasure tree, hidden wonder
The Myth
On the steep rock face above the valley between Bärschis and Tscherlach, where the cliff falls sheer into the depths below, there runs a narrow line of damp stone. From a crevice on the western side of the wall, water sometimes seeps out, leaving a long, dark trail down the rock.
Long ago, a traveler from Venice passed along Lake Walen on his way from Weesen. Seeing the strange mark upon the cliff, he stopped and took out a mountain mirror. For a long time he studied the rock face through it, watching the place where the water emerged.
At last he lowered the mirror and spoke with certainty. Behind that wall, he said, not far from where the water flows, there stands a gigantic tree made entirely of pure silver. Whoever could reach it and claim it would gain immeasurable wealth.
Yet the cliff is steep, the way uncertain, and the place difficult to reach. No one has ever found the path that leads behind the stone. And so the silver tree is said to remain there still, hidden within the mountain, waiting for the one who dares to seek it.
Gallery
Sources
SAGEN.at. (n.d.). Der silberne Baum. Retrieved March 1, 2026, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/schweiz/st_gallen/silberne_baeume.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