Lorelei

 

The Lorelei is a folk story coming from Germany about a beautiful woman who became a mermaid. It was a tragic story and inspired many artists and poets. The story began with a heart broken young woman named Lorelei who became distressed when she found out her beloved was seeing another. She was so upset that she decided to take her own life. She flung into the depths of the river and drowned. The river is the famous Rhine, full of stories of magic and mystery. Lorelei transformed into a siren and her enchanting beauty lured fishermen to their death. 

It must also be mentioned that Lorelei is the name of a large stone that makes humming sounds. This Lorelei stone is found on the riverbank close to Sankt in Goarshausen in Germany. The Lorelei stone is also called Loreley, and stands at 433 ft tall. It's a place where many violent disasters have happened there along the river for thousands of years. Even today it's a busy waterway and as recent as 2011 a boat carrying sulphuric acid crashed 

It isn't only the siren but the "Luren" who are dwarves that live inside the stone. It's believed by folklore that the Loren protect treasures and other mystical objects. Some say that this is where the treasure from the Nibelungenlied is found. In 1612 the author Marquard Friedrich Freher wrote that the Lorelei is where mountain nymphs gather, including the place where Echo appeared, the famous nymph of Greek mythology. It was Heinrich Heine who created an unnamed beautiful poem of the siren in 1823 of which was set to music often by different composers. There is much more about the River Rhine to discuss another time.

She Wolf Night