Legends of a corpse-swiping alchemist, fountain of immortality, witches, treasure and a dragon-killer are history and lore of infamous Castle Frankenstein. Built in the 13th century in mystical Odenwald (Forest of Odes) of south Germany, the castle knows many secrets.
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The inspiration of Castle Frankenstein (Ger. Burg Frankenstein) to English writer Mary Shelley is well known. Dismal days and quarrels motivate a writing contest among her traveling companions.
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Her contribution is "Frankenstein - Or, the Modern Prometheus". Beginning as an issue of 50, the 1818 gothic novel goes into numerous printings as eager minds snap up the story and ideas behind it.
Science, nature, industry and back to earth movements evolve in overlapping cycles throughout Europe. The novel's release coincides with the Romantic era in art and literature especially in Germany.
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Castle Frankenstein History
Castle Frankenstein, meaning Stone of the Franks, is on a hill above Darmstadt. The Castle is older than the town. Rugged mountains, fog and dark forests surround the ancient towers. Its first written reference is in 1252, bearing the name of the man who built it.
Lord Conrad II Reiz of Breuberg has Castle Frankenstein erected sometime before 1250, and thereafter names himself von und zu Frankenstein. Von (from) and zu (to) refer to a family estate, barony or holding. The name is shortened to 'von Frankenstein.'
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Alchemist Dippel
In the seventeenth century, Johann Konrad Dippel is born at Frankenstein's Castle and becomes an alchemist there as an adult. Alchemy is based on metallurgy or the ancient science of metals. Dippel makes an animal oil by boiling bones and other animal body parts.
He calls it an elixir of life. Stories of Dippel dissecting animals become more ominous as hushed voices suggested grave robbery. Although there's no evidence Dippel steals human corpses from graves, the theory of soul transferal is popular in scientific minds and folk tales.
Born of metallurgy and pre-dating chemistry, alchemy is a mysterious magic to the general population. Alchemists aim to turn base into noble metals, create an all-healing medicine and find the elixir of youth ... but it's ultimate religious treason to mess with human souls.
At Frankenstein's Castle, the Tower is inhabited by a family or more. Perhaps a light flickers in the upper reaches and a strange shadow is seen late at night, appearing to any passerby like a madman in the hazy dark.
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The story of Alchemist Dippel is said to have inspired Shelley's Frankenstein. Although she never visits to the Castle she travels through the area and stays a few days nearby in grim wet weather. She certainly hears the local folklore.
The Fountain of Youth
On the grounds of Castle Frankenstein is an herb garden. Behind the garden, a water source glimmers at the roots of a tree. According to legend, old women from nearby villages came to bathe, the night of the first full moon after Walpurgisnacht.
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The women undergo feats of courage. The winner can return to her age the night of her wedding. It's not known if the women were witches, but suggested by an association with Witches' Night, use of magic powers and the odd happenings at Frankenstein Castle.
The Fountain of Youth, age reversal or universal healing are prime areas of study and experimentation in alchemy, the science of the times. In the ancient world the concept exists as a wondrous place of natural beauty and harmony.
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It comes into popular culture in the 16th century when the Spaniard Ponce de Leon embarks on his famous quest. For centuries such stories feed the fertile imaginations of artists, scientists and writers throughout the world.
Today we know about abilities like those of salamanders, who can regenerate any body part, including eyes or brain tissue. In modern research they're the focus of interest as experts try to crack the code holding the secret to regeneration ... and maybe, eternal life.
Lord George the Dragon Slayer
It's not St George, but Castle Frankenstein has its own dragon-slayer with the legend of Lord George, who slays a dragon on the grounds. The mythology comes from a story by writer August Nodnagel in the early nineteenth century.
In the Middle Ages, a dragon lives by the castle well. It makes regular forays a nearby village. It creeps into houses at night to kill and eat people as they sleep, or snatches them up from the fields. In some versions the dragon demands a virgin sacrifice.
Returning from a recent battle, the young knight Lord George rides into the village. People wail and beg him to help, so George dons his shining armor and rides to the Castle to confront the dragon.
He finds the coiled monster asleep and attacks with his sword. The battle rages and finally George deals the death stroke, driving his blade into the dragon's belly. As the dragon dies its barbed tail strikes George, injecting him with venom.
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Lord George also perishes. The villagers bury him with honors at the Church of Nieder Beerbach east of the castle, and went about their business in peace from the ravaging monster. Today people can still visit George's tomb.
Gold!
Legends of treasure abound in the south of Germany. Germanic tribes, Romans, Celts and more trek through the Rhineland hills and dense forests. Some stash their plunder if it's too heavy, or if they're pursued and it slows them down.
Some sink it in the Rhine to keep it from enemy hands. Over the ages the Rhine River has changed its course. Treasure once sunk into its depths could be waiting just below the a layer of eroded soil.
Gold creation is one of the primary goals of alchemy, as in the famous reference turning lead, a base metal, into gold, a noble metal. Gold is closely associated with dragons. The Lindwyrm is a type of dragon who multiplies wealth by resting upon it.
In the eighteenth century, nurtured by fertile imaginations, rumors of a treasure near the castle turn into a mini gold rush. Villagers from nearby Nieder Beerbach and others who hear the tales came out with picks and shovels to claim mining land.
No one finds anything but earthworms, and the rush ends when one miner's pit collapsed and killed him. Treasure hunters continue to trickle through until, in the late 1700s, legislation bans gold digging altogether. People still seek treasure in the Rhine. It's also lucky to find rhinestones.
Magnets, Iron & Witches
Magnetic phenomena play a large role in local legend. Behind Castle Frankenstein, Mount Ilbes is famous for magnetic rocks. Natural magnetism is found in magnetite or lodestone (Fe3O4), hematite (Fe2O3) and other sources of high iron content, such as meteorites.
Folklore tells us Mount Ilbes is the second most significant meeting place of witches in Germany, after Mount Brocken in the Harz Mountains. On Walpurgisnacht May 1 and summer solstice June 20, contemporary Wiccans and neo-pagans gather at the site.
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