Uri's Devil bridge
- Joëlle Przytula-Bertherin
- May 19, 2022
- 3 min read
One day, villagers from the Canton Uri (Switzerland) decided to build a bridge in the Gotthard Pass. However, the construction of the bridge proved too difficult and so they looked for a solution. The devil saw this as a good opportunity and appeared. He promised the inhabitants to build the complicated bridge for them, but only in exchange for something very precious: the soul of the first person to cross the bridge. It would belong to him forever. The residents agreed and the bridge was built. But now came the problem for the village: who would be the first to cross the bridge? After thinking about this problem for a long time, they came up with a clever deception: they would send a goat across the bridge to mislead the devil.
When the devil saw the goat crossing the bridge, he became enraged and tore the animal apart in a frenzy. Out of revenge, he grabbed a giant rock to destroy the bridge. However, when he arrived at the bridge an old woman happened to be walking there with a cross around her neck. The devil was so frightened that he dropped the rock, causing it to land next to the bridge.
Another version of the story mentions that the devil was taking a rest from lifting the heavy rock, and an old woman drew a cross on the rock, so the devil could no longer touch the rock. He was thus forced to leave it behind. The boulder has since been moved to make room for the famous Gotthart Tunnel, but it can still be viewed and is part of protected heritage. The Devil's Bridge has been renovated several times due to damage from storms and wars. A bridge has now been built above it and is being used, so the old bridge only has to serve as heritage.
Europe has several devil bridges. These bridges are so named because they were so unusual in construction that it was thought that they could only have been made with the help of the devil.
By the way, Uri is not the only place in Switzerland associated with the devil. In some mountain passes, such as les Diablerets (translation: the devil's abode) there is a superstition that behind the mountain wall the devil did everything God has forbidden. It was believed that the inhospitable mountain peaks were cursed and that the devil and his helpers met there regularly to make plans... with the added bonus of scaring the inhabitants to death. This also explained the spooky sounds coming from the rocks.
The fact that there are many stories about devils, demons and how to chase them away in Switzerland probably stems from its Celtic origins. Many Celtic tribes settled there (and brought their rituals and customs with them) long before it became one country.
Back to the Gotthard Pass. In 2016, they finished building the Gotthard rail tunnel. Notable at this event was the opening ceremony. This consisted of an initiation of pagan symbolism and rituals, complete with goats, devils and demons. 600 of the world's most influential people were present. The main character of the ceremony was a kind of devilish goat-man who was worshipped by his bystanders. Strange to say the least and obviously fuel for many conspiracy theories. But hey, without investigating and/or debunking conspiracies we would no longer be able to think critically and, frankly, the world would become a bit boring as well.
And who knows, you might discover a new mystery....
Love,
Joelle
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