The Herders' Curse
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| Geographic Coordinates: 51° 59' 30.48" N, 9° 37' 15.96" E |
(From teacher Hanne in Opperhausen.)
In old times, when all cattle stayed outside all day and night, the horses were also driven into the forest in the evening. Then it was not uncommon that a werewolf strangled a foal or some other animal. But the old herders knew a magical incantation which they could use to keep werewolves or any other type of hostile creature away from the herds and bring them to ruin. Once, the region surrounding the Ith was protected from great harm thanks to such an incantation.
When foreign armies approached and burned and pillaged the villages, the harassed farmers drove their cattle into a remote valley on the other side of the Ith which was surrounded by dense forest. This occurred in the Great War, and during the French Times as well. The gorge is thus known as the “Kuhstallsgrund” (“Cow Stables’ Valley”).
At one time when enemy troops moved through the villages once more and the inhabitants thought their cattle to be well hidden within the Kuhstallsgrund, the herders were horrified when a hostile rider who had lost his way approached their camp. He had come from the Duingen area and now wanted to cross the Ith. They told him where he was. But in order to prevent him from betraying them — for that would have meant the doom of the entire camp — the oldest herder sent the Herder’s Curse after him. In this manner, he fell from a cliff above Lüerdissen and was killed by the impact.