Kiefheuser

Another Harz mountain range, hidden in the territory of Thuringia, is shrouded in myths and legends. According to legend, the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, so called by the Italians for his red beard, did not die in a crusade back in 1190 on the territory of Turkey, but hides in the Kyffhäuser mountain. As if to confirm this, in 1889, a huge red sandstone monument was erected at the foot of the mountain in honor of Emperor Wilhelm I, who had created the first German Empire shortly before in 1871.

The unification of the German lands was – many centuries before that - and the work of the life of Barbarossa himself, whose six-meter sculpture sitting on the throne is installed just below.

According to legend, the triumphant return of Barbarossa has been postponed all these years only because of the birds. According to legend, once in a hundred years, the Emperor Barbarossa, resting in the underground labyrinths of Kiefheuser, wakes up and sends a dwarf to check if the black crows are still circling over the mountain. After receiving a positive response, the frustrated emperor falls back into sleep - for the next hundred years.