Grottenstein - mystical castle ruins

As part of the 2nd Legends and Fairy Tale Days Chur, a guided hike to the Grottenstein castle ruins will take place on 25 November 2018 at 10 a.m. with exciting stories from the local world of legends, treasure-guarding cave fairies, enchanted toads and the golden skittles...  The stories are mysteriously interwoven with the direct experience of nature in the wintry mountain forest and in the enigmatic cave castle, where the campfire makes twitching shadows dance on the rock faces.

The ruins of Grottenstein Castle are located above Haldenstein. Little is known about its history, but a spring in the castle cave indicates a possible use as a refuge in times of need. Contrary to expectations, the name Grottenstein does not derive from the word Grotte in the sense of cave. Rather, the cave castle was originally called Chrottenstein, where Chrott means "toad". The reference to the toad now allows for completely different associations. The coinage as a toad place as well as local legends of a white maiden who guards sunken treasures and guards unborn souls inside the mountain, build mysterious bridges to mythology. In numerous legends, the toad and the white maiden appear as contrasting manifestations of the same entity, which often guards a hidden treasure of gold in caves and castle ruins. The auspicious treasure of gold is analogous to the basic maxim of alchemy, but is to be understood above all as a symbol for an inner treasure of the soul, an essential step in development or a realization.