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Gebhardshain

Hexeneiche

Hexeneiche Hexeneiche 1

Detailed description

The gnarled witch's oak of Elkenroth stands surrounded by legends directly on the Druids' Path.

According to an old tale, a demon was banished here: In Elkenroth, there was once the house "Fluchs". A woman lived there who could not find peace, for a demon - a witch - also resided in the house. She wreaked havoc, emitting terrifying voices and speaking in incomprehensible sounds. The woman, who lived alone, couldn't and didn't want to stay in the house any longer. Since prayers did not help, she set out on a pilgrimage to the Marienstatt Monastery. There, she told a priest about the witch in her house and asked him to drive the evil spirit out.

One day, he appeared before the woman's house and sprinkled it with holy water. As he did so, he spoke the words that have been used since ancient times to drive away evil spirits. With screams, crashing, and roaring, the demon fled from the house. The monk drove the spirit towards the "Hoh" and spoke to the woman: "If you want to see the Evil One, follow me and look closely over my left shoulder. Then you can see him." "No and no again," the woman cried, "I will never want to see the devil."

When the demon arrived at the "Hoh", he turned around one last time and looked at the houses of Elkenroth. In doing so, he begged the monk to let him return to the village. However, the monk banished the demon into an oak behind the "Hoh". From then on, the witch lamented even more and begged the monk to allow her to take just a single rooster's step towards Elkenroth each year, so that she could eventually occupy the house again. But the priest allowed nothing of the sort. And so, the witch remained forever in the oak.

Brief description

Old tales of a gnarled oak

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