Maiden‘s Jump

A Leander tale from Traunkirchen

A long time ago, a rich and powerful count lived at the lake castle of Ort. His wife suffered a difficult birth and with her passing, left him an only daughter. The spitting image of the deceased countess, she grew into a beautiful virgin. She was her father's greatest joy.

But he could not enjoy his happiness for long, as war broke out and the count had to go off to battle. He left his daughter in the hands of the burgrave of Wolfsegg, in whom he had the greatest confidence. He would protect his virgin daughter. The burgrave was a steadfast and stern man who confined his cheerful daughter to a life of gloomy solitude.

It then so happened that the young and handsome knight of Wartenburg came to visit the burgrave. He became inflamed with love for the fair virgin. And she too soon showed tender affection towards him and fell madly in love with the youth.

But the tough burgrave noticed the love between the two and decided to act before it turned to lust. He sent the young woman to the nunnery at Traunkirchen. The knight of Wartenburg tried to crush the resistance of the old burgrave and stormed the castle, only to find it completely empty.

But the young knight decided not to give up. He would find his fair maiden. Opposite Traunkirchen, at the edge of Eisenau, on the rocky cliffs on the lakeshore, he built himself a castle. During the day he would look out from the rock, which is still called “Jungfernlueg” or "Maiden's Lookout", full of sweet ardour and restlessness to the nunnery on the other side of the deep lake, where the object of his heart’s desire abided.

And when, on the opposite shore, the prayer candles were extinguished, the chorale of the pious women faded away into the stillness of the mountains and thousands of stars reflected in the lake like a glittering fishing net of soft light, the young man would set off. With strong arms and a fervent heart, he would cut through the cold waves to reach his goal, where a beacon of light was shining in his direction from the top of the nunnery. For there the count's daughter would be waiting. The candlelight would guide the young knight through the cold lake. And so the lovers found their way to each other each night.

But one evening, after the sun had set, there was a violent storm. The young knight fought against the rising waves knowing that as long as he could see the light on the other shore, he could make it through the storm with the power of his love for his girl. But the cold night’s wind extinguished the flickering light. Desperate, the knight's beloved looked out into the darkness with longing and trepidation. But she couldn't see a thing and could only hear the roaring waves and the whistling wind.

The young man was alone in the darkness. He fought against the waves, but the force of the storm was too great. He didn't know which way to go. The light had gone out. The relentless lake engulfed the young man. The waves pushed him deeper into the dark water in an ice-cold embrace. One last time he rebelled against the forces of nature, reaching up to the stormy sky with his strong arms, and remembered for one last time the sweet and warm embrace of his beloved. But then all his strength left him and he died in the depths of the lake.

Even before the moon broke out from behind the scattered clouds of the thunderstorm, the waves drove the knight's body to the beach where he had so often emerged from the water, his heart pounding, full of love and passion, ready to take his beloved in his arms again for one night.

When the count's daughter saw her lover's soulless body, pain and despair fell upon her heart. Just as her heart was broken, so did her body as she threw herself into the depths. She left this life knowing that in death she would be reunited with her beloved.

Even today, the place where both bodies were found is called "Antles Ort" and the rock from which she threw herself is called “Jungfernsprung” or "Maiden’s Jump".

This sad legend of the poor daughter of the count and the knight of Wattenburg has its origins, of course, in Greek mythology. Hero was a priestess of Aphrodite in Sestos on the western shore of the Hellespont strait. Her beloved Leander lived in Abydos on the opposite bank of Asia Minor. In most versions of the original story, it was an oil lamp or fiery beacon that showed Leander the way to his beloved. He, like the young knight, drowned in a storm. Hero then threw herself from the tower to her death.

The origin of the story is not known. The first detailed narrative comes from the poet Ovid, who wrote a fictitious letter from Leander to Hero and also her reply. He included them in his collection of Heroides or Letters of Heroines.

In modern times, many well-known writers took up this legend again. Christopher Marlowe wrote an epic poem about the unfortunate lovers, Friedrich Schiller wrote a ballad and Franz Grillparzer wrote the tragedy Des Meeres und der Liebe Wellen.