- Loreley
The Loreley (also written as Lorelei) is a rock on the eastern bank of the
Rhine near St. Goarshausen,Germany , which soars some 120 meters above the water line. It marks the narrowest part of the river between Switzerland and the North Sea. A very strong current and rocks below the waterline have caused many boat accidents there."Loreley" is also the name of one of the beautiful Rhine Maidens who lured navigators of this river to their dooms with their alluring singing, much as the ancient Greek
Sirens did.In 1395 the Loreley showed up as vineyard of the Counts of
Katzenelnbogen .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". The heavy currents, and a small
waterfall in the area (still visible in the early 19th century) created a murmuring sound, and this combined with the special echo the rock produces which acted as a sort of amplifier, then gave name to the rock itself. [ [http://www.loreleytal.com/hansenorden/hansen-blatt/1997nr50/loreley.htm Loreley - Ein Beitrag zur Namendeutung] . AccessedJune 16 ,2006 .] The murmuring is hard to hear today due to the urbanization of the area. Other theories attribute the name to the many accidents, by combining the word "luren" (lurk) with the same "ley" ending, with the translation "lurking rock".In folklore and poetry
The rock is associated with several legendary tales originating in
German folklore . It appears in many forms. The legend was first created by the German author Clemens Brentano in his novel "Godwi oder Das steinerne Bild der Mutter" (1801); Brentano was inspired by Ovid, especially by the Echo-Narcissus myth.One of the legends is that Loreley, a beautiful young maiden, committed suicide because of an unfaithful lover. She jumped from the steep rock into the Rhine River, thus killing herself. She then became a
siren , luring shipmen to their fates with her hypnotizing voice. The echoing heard today is said to be Loreley.Notes
External links
* [http://www.graf-von-katzenelnbogen.de/ The Loreley, a vineyard of the Counts of Katzenelnbogen and their first Riesling of the World]
* [http://www.business.uiuc.edu/vock/poetry/lorelei.html text of "Die Lorelei"] byHeinrich Heine with English translation
* [http://www2.hu-berlin.de/literatur/projekte/loreley/Gedichte/brenta1.htm Text of the Poem] byClemens Brentano
* [http://www.loreley-info.com Lorelei Info] Information all around the Lorelei
* [http://www.loreley-info.com/eng/loreley/loreley-song.shtml Lorelei Song mp3]
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