Editing Odenwald (section)

=== Legends and mythology ===
The numerous Odenwald folk legends are mostly connected with historic geographic sites (castle, town, rock, road and so on) They relate:
* mysterious actions and appearances of ghosts in a castle (for example the two ''Bergstraße''-ruins ''Auerbach - castle'' and ''Windeck'') or in a nightscape respectively in a cottage: The ''Höhmann'' near Bensheim, the ''White Lady'' of Mossau, the ''Schlurcher'' close by Erbach, the ''Man without head'' near Heppenheim, the ''Goast-nuns'' of monastery ''Steinbach''.
* the stories of knights and their ladies: Konrad and Ann-Els von Tannenberg, Edelmut von Ehrenberg and Minna von Horneck at the ''Minneburg'', Georg von Frankenstein and Annemariechen, Hans von Rodenstein and Maria von Hochberg.
* the apparitions of the devil: ''Teufelspfad'' (pathway of the devil) to the ''Felsberg'', ''Teufelsstein'' (rock of the devil) in Gorxheimertal, ''Opferstein'' (altar stone) on the top of the ''Juhöhe''.
* or the apparitions of a witch: for example in the shape of a pig in Bensheim

In some stories the local aspect firstly is connected with monsters (knight Georg fights against the man-eating ''[[lindworm]]'' near ''Frankenstein-castle'') and creatures of nature with magic potency (a ''water spirit'' changed into a fox near Niedernhausen, the ''merwoman'' in the ''Meerwiese'' of Waldürn).

Secondly the local legend is connected with the genre of the historic saga: a historic person or an original is portrayed anecdotally (the count of Erbach and Luther, resp. the  ''Raubacher Joggel'', landgrave Ludwig VIII: of Hesse-Darmstadt, robber ''Hölzerlips'').
[[File:Wildweibchen mit Einhorn.jpg|thumb|upright|''Wild Woman'' (''Wildweibchen'') with a unicorn (Straßburg around 1500)]]

Thirdly a local tale explains an [[Etiology|etiological]] or original myth (aetiological saga). For example, there is explained:
* why a name is given: many ''Wildweibchensteine'' (''Wild Woman''-Rocks) in the Odenwald, ''Teufelsstein'' (stone of the devil), ''Teufelspfad'' (path of the devil), ''Opfersteine'' (altar stone) and  ''Hundsköpfe'' (dogheads) on top of the ''Juhöhe'', ''Hölzerlips''-stone, ''Schimmeldewoog'' for the village Schönmattenwag (→[[Folk etymology]]) or the phrase “{{lang|de|hinnerum wie die Fraa vun Bensem}}”,
* why a natural phenomena, for example a typical landscape, was formed: the saga creates a mythic history for the places of  the ''felsenmeer'' and the ''Hohenstein'' near Reichenbach (because giants stoned each other) or the ''Herrgottsfelsen'' (Godrock) near Darmstadt (act of revenge by the devil for finessing),
* why a castle (''Minneburg'') was built at a special place (''Minneberg'' at the Neckar) and was so named hereafter,
* why a mysterious stone carving was inset in a castle-wall: figure of a dog at the portal of the  ''Minneburg'' near Neckargerach, the ''Blecker'' at the town gate of Buchen, the ''Breilecker'' above the door of Breuberg-castle.

Beside these legends there are two famous and well-known Odenwaldsagas:

In the [[Nibelungenlied]] (see also [[Nibelung]]) the dragon slayer [[Sigurd|Siegfried]], on a hunting trip (instead of a failed campaign) leading from the [[Burgundians|Burgundian]] city of [[Worms, Germany|Worms]] into the Odenwald, is murdered by [[Hagen (legend)|Hagen of Tronje]]. Since no exact spot for this deed has been handed down, countless communities, especially in the Hessian Odenwald are squabbling over the right to call themselves “Siegfried’s Murder Site”, for example a spring near Gras-Ellenbach (''Siegfriedsbrunnen''), Mossautal-Hüttenthal ''Lindelbrunnen'') or Heppenheim (''Siegfriedbrunnen'').

The ruins of ''Rodenstein'' (below-mentioned) and ''Schnellerts'' near [[Fränkisch-Crumbach]] are the setting of an Odenwald ghost story: during the night the knight ''Rodenstein'' (the ''Rodensteiner'') flies with a berserker-cornet through the air to prophesy the beginning of a war ([[Wild Hunt]] motif).

<gallery class="center">
File:Siegfrieds Tod.jpg|"Siegfried's Death" ([[Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld]], 1847): Hagen murdered Siegfried by a spring in the Odenwald.
File:Nibelungenlied manuscript-k.jpg|Picture of Siegfrieds assassination in the Nibelungenlied-manuscript k (1480–90)
File:Siegfriedbrunnen.png|''Siegfriedbrunnen'' by Wilhelm Trübner. In the legend there is no exact description in respect of the hunting trip.
File:Ritter von Rodenstein und Schnellart.jpg|''Rodenstein Castle'' is the scene of the ''Rodensteiner'' ghost legend (19th-century picture).
</gallery>