Legends

Legends of the Titisee

Due to the unique location of the Titisee and its special colour which
- depending on the season- changes from dark green to a deep shade of
blue or mysterious black, there are lots of stories and legends dealing
with the Titisee. In addition, there is the closeness to the Feldberg which
helped reinforce the mysteries around the Titisee.
You can see the mountain in the background of the inlet. The height difference
amounts to over 600m although the Titisee itself is located at a height of about
850m.
Many legends have been handed down for generations and that's
why there are so many variations.
I would love to tell you some of the most famous legends:

Once upon the time,

there was a lost city.

People say that there was once a powerful city with a monastery where there is
today the area of the lake. The city was very rich and its inhabitants got stacks
of money. They lost their belief in the laws of God and the values of their daily
bread. Out of their arrogance they took loaves and carved them so that they
could use them as shoes. They gave the rest of the bread to the animals.
God’s punishment did not wait long. The heavens opened and a big rain
inundated the whole city. Neither men nor animal survived. The precious city
with its towers and gates sunk in an unfathomable deep lake.
Legend has it that when you row on a boat on a quiet Sunday morning, you
could see the monastery towers in the deep lake and you could hear the sound
of the church bells.
They also say, that if the monastery near Friedenweiler sinks into the depth, the
city and the monastery of Titisee will rise from the tide and a new lake
come to existence.
A variation of the lost city
Another version of the story of the lost city says that a nun who felt pity for the
drowning animals tried to hold the huge masses of water closing the end of the
lake with her bonnet. But every year a part of her bonnet starts to rot and unless
today’s people of Titisee hold on to piety and modesty the last part will also rot.
Consequently the city will again prey to a flood.
( Hopefully not during one of your visits here - just kidding.)
Science fiction anno 1800
Another legend has it that afterwards, near the new banks, castles were built
where many thousand people could live et they would use cars without a front
team of ox and horse to drive along the lake and the mountains. And they
were even faster than the fastest horses. These people would even be able to
cross the lake, just like fish.
If you interpret this legend, you have to say that the prophecy has been fulfilled.
Trains go up to the station Bärental and our cars take us everywhere. The great
„castles“ are hotels nowadays which accomodate thousands of guests.
If you want to cross the lake like a fish you just have to use one of the
numerous pedal boats.
The unfathomble depth
The bottom of the lake lies in a crevasse carved by the glacier of the Feldberg.
In the eighties it has become possible through modern technology to determine
the depth of the lake. Still, scientists do not agree on its exact depth: 44, 45
or 48 metres.
Of course, there is also a legend dealing with this topic.

Once upon a time the people of Titisee were sitting in a restaurant betting
about the actual depth of their lake. The bravest of them should go to the
uncanny lake to determine the depth with the help of a plumbline and a rope.
The brave man had already unrolled 100 metres of rope but there was no end to
be seen. All of a sudden, the rope was hold back and the man’s boat almost
sank when a voice arised from the lake: If you mesure me, I’ll devour you!
Full of fear the man rowed quickly to the shore and told the story to his pals.
From this day on, nobody has ever tried to explore the depth of the lake.

I hope you enjoyed these tales.

You can see my late father on the above picture reading some legends which he
used to tell me.
Maybe you will spend one evening in our hotel listening to more legends about

Titisee. And then it will be my turn to pass them to you.

Hans-Jörg Franz