Barbarossa in the Untersberg
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| Geographic Coordinates: 47° 42' 19.00" N, 12° 58' 45.00" E 47° 42' 3.59" N, 12° 56' 2.43" E 47° 43' 31.16" N, 12° 55' 16.11" E 47° 46' 50.40" N, 12° 58' 14.70" E |
Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, who once waged a devastating war in this region in the second half of the 12th century because he disapproved of who was chosen as the Archbishop of Salzburg, is now said to be imprisoned along with his household within the depths of the Untersberg. Martial music and the ringing of weapons can be heard from the caves of the mountain, especially when war is imminent. Wild knights and squires in glowing armor and flame-wreathed weapons ride on fiery horses through the surrounding regions after midnight, only to return to the mountain as dawn approaches. They vanish into the iron gate which can be seen very rarely by wanderers between the rock formations of the Hallthurm, past the ruins of the Plainburg. Here the bound souls wait while doing good works until that terrible day when unbelief and contemptible lust for power reach their highest level. Then the many people of the world will clash with each other like a whirlwind and meet for a battle on the wide plains of Wals.501 There Barbarossa and his followers will turn the tide of battle for the side of Goodness.
Source: Panzer - Bayerische Sagen und Bräuche Erster Band, p. 14f