Treasure Hunters in Wesenberg

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At the end of the previous and the beginning of the current century there was a whole group of treasure hunters pursuing their trade in Wesenberg and the surrounding villages. Their usual place of rest between their excavations was the Prelauker or Belower Theerofen whose owners were keen participants in the digging, though this did not particularly help any of them. Instead their pub declined more than it prospered, and the heirs had to recover what their fathers had neglected.

Now, it is well known that the very foundation of treasure excavation is the maintenance of unbroken silence. And this was the point where the undertaking of our heroes usually failed. They themselves frequently told the story, not without some pride, but also with hidden anger, of how the three of them progressed far enough into the ground that they spotted a heavy, large container that would have contained the treasure. But suddenly a white maiden — another source, my uncle, called her “clad in grey clothing” — jumped between their hands, back and forth, so that they were no longer able to work. Suddenly, one of the treasure hunters impatiently called to his neighbor: “Rehdanz, grab her, grab her!”, and at once the treasure, the maiden, and everything else was gone.

Source: Bartsch - Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche aus Meklenburg Band 1, p. 252ff

caption Note: This story was published in the book Sunken Castles, Evil Poodles: Commentaries on German folklore. Get the book for further context and explanatory commentary!