Devil's Holes - One tells oneself...

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In the Pongau mountains, rock intersections can sometimes be found on ridges. These resemble so-called passage caves that allow the blue of the sky to shine through. One of these “Teufelslöcher” (Devil’s Holes) can also be found in the Ore of the Alps UNESCO Global Geopark.

A long, long time ago, an Alpine herdsman and dairyman lived on a Hochkönigalm pasture and made huge quantities of milk and butter, but let them go to waste. Then one day the devil himself suddenly stood in front of his alpine pasture to put an end to this sacrilege. The Alpine dairyman begged for his humble life and his poor soul. So the devil himself softened and gave the dairyman a choice: “Either I throw you over 9 mountains or drive you through 9 walls!” The clever dairyman did not think twice and decided on the latter evil, which he would have to endure. The devil himself now grabbed him by the hair and drove him through 9 walls. However, since the spirit flew ahead, it was soon badly battered and appeared in such poor shape that it never could appear again in this area. Although the dairyman suffered a few scratches, he saved his life with this clever ruse and since then, these holes in the mountain ridge are called Devil ́s holes (Teufelslöcher).