Monday, February 16, 2015

Legendary Places



  Two Legendary Places




There are some places that are filled with legend, most of it based upon real places and real events as passed down from person to person.
In Dutch culture there are two special spots that wake up the imagination. They are Cockaigne and Devils Bridge.
The places shrouded in folklore are very different from one another. One is located on a map of the country and the other exists only in the mind.

Cockaigne is an imaginary place that came into being during the medieval days. It is a place of luxury and pleasures that was considered to be an antidote to the hardships attached to typical peasant life.  Here is where it had been rumored nuns could show off their bottoms without rebuke and food was everywhere. Even the sky was raining cheese.

In an atlas you'll find  Devil’s Bridge. Also known as Gotthard Pass, it is one of the highest mountain passes in Switzerland and connects the German speaking part of the country to the Italian speaking part. 
This Devils Bridge was not used until about the 13th century.  The most popular Devils Bridge legend involves the story of a Swiss herdsman who wished a devil would build a bridge. 
The devil appeared and agreed to build the bridge, but only if the soul of the first person to cross it was sacrificed.

And there went the herdsman!

Related topics:
Bali:A Traveler's Folktale

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