The Devil's Walls near Blankenburg
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| Geographic Coordinates: 51° 47' 1.12" N, 10° 58' 34.89" E |
(from J. B. v. Rohr. “Der Vor- oder Unterharz”, 1736. P. 46.)
The farmers in the vicinity of Blankenburg state the following about the origin for the formation of the Teufelsmauer (“Devil’s Walls”). They say that the Evil Spirit once dared to split the whole globe with God. In this manner, the great God would only have one half of the world to reign over, while the other half was supposed to fall to him. He thus wanted to make a start with dividing the world in these lands, and erected this wall which was intended to continue throughout the world. God had observed his game and his villainy for some time. However, finally he ruined that wall, since it was much too tall, and forbade the Devil to continue its construction. For this reason, only these pieces of the wall were left.
However, there is also another legend about this matter.(*) This legend claims the following. The Devil argued with the dear God for a long time about the rulership of the Earth. Finally, a division of the land that was inhabited at the time was agreed upon. The flat rocks to the south of the village of Thale between Blankenberg and Quedlinburg, which the people call the “Teufels Tanzplatz” (“Dancing Square of the Devil”), were supposed to mark the dividing line. The Devil erected the Teufelsmauer while dancing jubilantly. But soon, the half of Earth which had been designated for him seemed too small for the ever-greedy one. A new dispute arose, which ended with the valley at the foot of that rock being given to him as well. After this, the Devil erected the second Teufelsmauer on the north side.
(*) See Otmar p. 177.
Source: Grässe - Sagenbuch des preussischen Staats - Erster Band, p. 521