Loreley (Lorelei) is a rock inhabited by a spirit of the same name. At the narrowest part of the Rhine River, Germany, the beauty and power of nature inspire writers and artists. The Lorelei siren originates in the 19th century.
Loreley means 'murmuring place,' from earlier German Lurley. Legends surround the rock from pagan times. Until mid-1800s, a waterfall occupies part of the Loreley. Churning water casts echoes, seemingly from different parts of the rock.
In ancient lore the murmuring sounds are attributed to Dwarfs. Today the waterfall is gone, due to the heavy industrialism of the 19th century, but the Freilichtbühne Loreley amphitheater (built 1930) atop the rock makes use of the great acoustics.
The legend of the Loreley siren is a tragedy of love unrequited. She's first mentioned in an 1801 ballad by German author Clemens Brentano, Zu Bacharach am Rheine (To Bacharach on the Rhine). Lore Lay is accused by her lover of charming and luring men to their deaths.
The Bishop sends her to a nunnery, escorted by guards. They come to the great rock. She begs to climb up to see the beauty of the Rhine once more. They consent. She thinks she sees her lover in the water and hurls herself from the cliffs to perish on the stormy rocks below.
Combing her hair with a golden comb, the alluring maid sits upon the rocks above the Rhine. Her song is irresistible, gliding through tempest and gale to call sailors and fisherman to their doom.
She may play a lute or lyre, and in some interpretations has a the tail of a fish. As a river siren she's a type of water spirit, the Nyx or nixies of German mythology. While nixies are known as ancient spirits, the tale of the Lorelei brings them into contemporary mythology.
The rock is 5 km (3.1 mi) from the village of Sankt Goarshausen, seat of the Loreley collective municipality. The town's economy is based on wine making and tourism. The steep sunny slopes of the Rhine are famous for some of the be wine grapes in Europe.
Grape varieties of the region include:
Red varietals: Dornfelder, Regent and Pinot Noir (Spatburgunder)
White varietals: Riesling, Muller-Thurgau, Kerner, Pinot Blanc, and Pinot Gris
In the first part of the 19th century a Romantic era suffuses German culture. Popularized by such artists as Kaspar (Caspar) David Friedrich, the Romantic ideal replaces the intellect and objectivity of neo-Classicism with a mystic dream quality of nature and emotion.
In 1824, German writer and poet Heinrich Heine adapts Brentano's theme to the poem "Die Lorelei", which became one of his most famous compositions. In 1837 Heine's lyrics are set to music by Friedrich Silcher, and so the song of the Loreley goes on.
Nixies are once used as Kinderschrecken or "child frights" to keep children away from wells, ponds or marshes where they could fall in and drown, or to scare them into good behavior.
Others include harvest spirits and wicked witches. Helpers of St Nicolas like Krampus or Belsnickel bring candy for the good and birch switches for the naughty. Nachtkrapp (Night Raven) ensures prompt bedtime.
The concept of nixies in the famous Wagner opera emerges from the Romance era. The nixies are sisters, water spirits of the Rhine, called the Rheintöchter or Daughters of the Rhine. They appear in the early part of Der Ring des Nibelungen or The Ring of the Nibelung (1869 - 1876).
Daughters of Father Rhine, the Rheintöchter are keepers of the Rheingold (Rhine Gold). The dwarf Alberich asks about the treasure. They tell him if the gold is forged into a ring it will give its owner infinite power over the world - but love must be renounced.
They tease him mercilessly with their charms until Alberich curses love and seizes the Rheingold, making him the villain of the story. Wagner's Rheintöchter are inspired by the ancient concepts of nixies as well as the 19th century romantic inclination.
After the German spelling reform of 1901, the letter "i" replaces letter "y" in the German language, with the exception of some place names such as Bayern, Speyer, and Loreley. The spelling Lorelei may be used in German and both versions are correct.
Loreley rock is 132 m (433 ft) high. Here the Rhine River is up to 25 m (82 ft) deep and just 370 m (113 ft) wide. It's subject to strong currents which can pull people under. Shipwrecks and drowning accidents are said to be caused by the haunting the song of the Lorelei.
Below is the poem by Heine. English translation is followed by German original.
English
The Lorelei (1841)
Heinrich Heine
I do not know the reason why To sorrow I’m inclined. A story from the olden days Is preying on my mind.
Light’s fading and the air is cool And quiet flows the Rhine, The mountain top’s still glowing As the sun’s last rays decline.
Seated up there, gorgeous, A maid beyond compare, Her golden jewellery glitters, She combs her golden hair.
She combs it with a golden comb And sings a song betimes, A song with a strange melody, With strange and powerful rhymes.
The boatman in his little boat, Gripped by a savage love, Does not see the rocky reef, Sees only what’s above.
I think the waves consumed them, Boat and boatman, bye and bye. And that’s what, with her singing, Was done by Lorelei.
Und jetzt auf Deutsch:
Die Loreley (1841)
Heinrich Heine
Ich weiß nicht, was soll es bedeuten Daß ich so traurig bin; Ein Märchen aus alten Zeiten Das kommt mir nicht aus dem Sinn.
Die Luft ist kühl und es dunkelt, Und ruhig fließt der Rhein; Der Gipfel des Berges funkelt Im Abendsonnenschein.
Die schönste Jungfrau sitzet Dort oben wunderbar, Ihr goldnes Geschmeide blitzet, Sie kämmt ihr goldenes Haar.
Sie kämmt es mit goldenem Kamme Und singt ein Lied dabei, Das hat eine wundersame, Gewaltige Melodei.
Den Schiffer im kleinen Schiffe Ergreift es mit wildem Weh, Er schaut nicht die Felsenrisse, Er schaut nur hinauf in die Höh.
Ich glaube, die Wellen verschlingen Am Ende Schiffer und Kahn. Und das hat mit ihrem Singen Die Loreley getan.