The treacherous water sprite
Whenever I walk along the promenade by the Wien River in Vienna’s Stadtpark, I am reminded of the legend of the water sprite. Before the regulation of the Wien, a raging river, a water sprite with a pale face, gray hair and hat, and high boots with red tassels lived at the weir where the water was deepest. He lurked there, waiting for his victims, whom he took with him to his underground kingdom. Children often fell prey to him, as they were easy prey for him. Little Anton, the son of a master butcher, became sadly famous. He was a real show-off who loved to brag to his friends that he was the chosen one, the only one who could outwit the cunning water sprite. Of course, his friends demanded proof, and Anton stole an ox bladder from his father’s butcher shop, which he filled with air and tied around his body. Then he jumped into the water and swam through the Vienna River until he reached the deepest point, the home of the water sprite. Suddenly, fingers rose from the spray, untied the ropes of the ox bladder, and pulled Anton into the depths. His friends had to watch as Anton disappeared forever into the depths of the river. His body was never recovered. But Anton was not the only boy to have an encounter with the water sprite. Rudi, who was looking for wood for his grandmother to heat her house on the riverbank, also almost fell victim to the water sprite. When Rudi spotted a thick branch in the river, he climbed onto a rock and tried to reach it with a pole. Suddenly, the floodwaters rushed around the rock and he saw the water sprite shaking the rock. Rudi lost his balance and fell into the water, where the water sprite tried to drag him down into the depths. But Rudi managed to grab the branch with his last ounce of strength and save himself by reaching the shore. It was rumored that the water sprite took pity on the boy because he had not entered his realm out of recklessness, but out of kindness, to help his grandmother. Many years passed in which people fell victim to the water sprite. It was only with the regulation of the Wien River and the dismantling of the weir that the haunting came to an end and the water sprite disappeared never to be seen again. Today, the Wien River is a trickle that divides Vienna’s Stadtpark in two, and I love to stroll along its Wien River portal.
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