The Mountain Where Time Disappears
Legend says an emperor sleeps inside a mountain near Salzburg, and that people who wander into its caves come out years later, though they've been gone only a night.
What was reported
The Untersberg is a mountain on the border of Austria and Germany, just south of Salzburg. Legend says that inside it, a great emperor, Charlemagne or Frederick Barbarossa, sleeps with his army, waiting for the day he's needed. Dwarfs and wild men are said to live in its caves.
Old tales tell of people who entered the mountain, spent what seemed like a few hours there, and returned to find that many years had passed. In modern times, the mountain has gathered stories of strange disappearances, time slips and odd lights.
Explanations offered
The sleeping-emperor legend is told about several mountains in Europe. The Untersberg is full of real caves, some with ice, and its sudden mists and steep cliffs make it easy to get lost. Modern 'time slip' stories have spread mostly through books and the internet.
- When
- Told since the Middle Ages
- Where
- Untersberg, on the German–Austrian border near Salzburg
- Witnesses
- Alpine folklore and modern hikers' stories
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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