Viking Cruise #20: The Rhine Middle River: Legend of Lorelei

Today's blog about the Middle Rhine River in Germany examines the legend of the mysterious Lorelei!

THE MYTH OF LORELEI - Lorelei, or in German, spelled Loreley, is a German legend of a beautiful maiden who threw herself into the Rhine River in despair over a faithless lover and was transformed into a siren who lured fishermen to destruction.

WHAT DOES THE NAME LORELEI MEAN IN GERMANY? - The name comes from the old German words lureln, Rhine dialect for "murmuring." and the Celtic term ley "rock." The translation of the name would therefore be "murmur rock" or "murmuring rock."

(Image: German illustration of Loreley (Lorelei) on a rock. Credit: Visit World Heritage Com) 

WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF THE STORY?  According to Visit World Heritage's website, the name Loreley first appeared in the romantic ballad by Clemens Brentano in 1801 about a pretty woman disappointed by love called Lore Ley, from the village of Bacharach. Spurned by her lover, she wanted to die. 

Men were fascinated by her beauty. Even the Bishop could not ignore her grace and charm, so he sent her to a convent, but she never got there. In her grief, she wanted to look once again at her beloved castle and her lover, and then, in desperation and despair, she jumped into the river. 

Brentano wrote several variations on the same theme and in his Rhine myths and fairytales, the Loreley appeared as the sad Frau Lurley, sitting on a cliff and combing her long, blond hair.

In Heinrich Heine’s 1824 version, fishermen passing below would be so fascinated by the lovely maiden Lorely combing her hair on the clifftop, that they would neglect to watch out for the treacherous rocks and strong rapids and drown. The ballad was put to music by Friedrich Silcher ‘Song of the Loreley’ and has since become famous across the world. 

(Photos: (top) Rob and Tom on the Viking Cruise in the Middle Rhine River, near the statue of Lorelei (bottom) )

NEXT: Docking at Rudesheim