Myth and TruthMysterious Stones in the Black Forest

In the Black Forest, mysterious boulders are shrouded in legend. In the Murg Valley near Forbach, we visited the so-called Giersteine - and discovered total silence.

Before the sun sets behind the Black Forest mountains, it sends out the last rays of the day. The granite blocks still feel warm to the touch. These are the Giersteine, near Forbach in the Murg Valley, southeast of Baden-Baden. In 1905, someone carved steps into the largest of the massive rocks, creating a natural pulpit. The climb is easy. The view sweeps over the mountains and down into the Murg Valley, as far as the pretty village of Forbach. It is as if a silence has fallen, even the birdsong has become quieter. No wonder the Giersteine were declared a natural monument in 1940.

Manuela Maer lives nearby. She is an author and sometimes comes up here at night for inspiration. Maer, whose real name is Claudia Mutschler, is an IT expert, who also writes fantasy stories. She has incorporated the Giersteine into the plot of her latest novel, using the strange rock formations as a mystical setting. Here is an exerpt from her book: “All of a sudden, her father‘s body began to float. He moved gently towards the face of the rock and, when his head was above the hollow, with its deep crevices, he floated downwards. The dark-robed men lingering below the rock had begun a terrifying chant. Maledin‘s will was more and more under their spell.” While reading this extract, the light on the Giersteine has changed. The warmth has faded; twilight heralds nightfall. Suddenly, it is easy to imagine that there is a grain of truth to the mystical stories.

Black Forest guide Bernd Schneider, who often brings hiking groups here, is familiar with Maer‘s books. He also likes to talk about the old legends. There are tales of animal and human sacrifices that Celtic druids offered to the gods in ancient times; the blood draining through deep crevices in the rock. And there is the story of a pagan priestess, who fled from the Christians. When the monks came to catch her, the devil himself appeared in the rocks. Is this all just overactive imagination?

Bernd Schneider laughs: “Yes, probably, because geologists came to a different conclusion about the formation of the rocks years ago. They say that the miracle that created these stones is simply erosion: water and wind, heat and cold. Originally, everything here was covered with rocks, plants and earth. Over time, the dirt was washed and worn away.”

What remains are the stones with their strange shapes, wrapped in lichen. And that special aura. It all makes the Giersteine a fine place to rest, relax and savour the panorama. And it is just a short hike up from Forbach railway station.