Any visitor to the Harz Mountains region wll soon realise that there is an odd emphasis on witches and other supernatural elements amongst many of the villages and towns.

This area, which is often steeped in mists that seem to weave in and out of forest trees and rock formations, is also steeped in folk tales and traditions which probably go back to pre-christian times.

These include many tales of witchcraft, apparitions and enchantments. These traditions spread widely, and in many parts of Europe there was a belief that Walpurgisnacht was the occasion when all of Europe’s witches gathered together on the peak of Brocken Mountain (Brockenberg) to await the dawn of spring. The date of this event is the night of April 30th, the eve of May.

It is believed that the tradition of Walpurgisnacht has its roots in an ancient pagan spring festival. However,under Christian influence, the rite of spring was transformed into a day to drive out the forces of pagan darkness, rather than the darkness of winter. Saint Walburga, now remembered on May 1, emerged in the eighth century to battle with the old goddess.
Brocken Mountain was where Goethe set the witches’ Sabbath scene in the story of Faust, who sells his soul to Mephistopheles, the devil. The tradition has even been remembered in modern music when the band Black Sabbath presented the song entitled “Walpurgis”.

Of course, this season has recently been promoted by local councils as a means of attracting tourists to the area. Around this time of the year, there is a brisk trade in “Harzhexen”, a range of toys and souvenirs reresenting witches on broomsticks and similar metaphors of witchcraft.

Submitted by John Kumm www.onlinetravelconsultant.com