Coming down like an avalanche through the Swiss Alps, the Rollibock monster takes revenge on man when he takes too much from nature.
Deep in the Swiss Alps, where eternal ice clings to jagged peaks and antique glaciers wind through forgotten valleys, lives a blood-curdling legend – the tale of Rollibock.
Among the inhabitants of the Valais and villages such as Naters and Fieschertal, as well as the scattered alpine villages near the Great Aletsch Glacier, this supernatural creature is spoken of in hushed tones, especially when the wind howls in the mountain passes and the ice groans under the weight of unseen forces.
Rollibock in the Alps
Rollibock is no ordinary beast. Descriptions passed down from generation to generation tell of a massive goat-like creature whose eyes glow with an unnatural, eerie airy in the shadowy. Its twisted, towering horns resemble gnarled branches covered in frost, and its entire body is covered in jagged shards of ice that clang together as it moves. It is said that with its horns it tore open earth, stones and fir trees and threw them high into the air. Some say that when he breathes, the air becomes brittle and the snow itself retreats in fear.
According to legend, Rollibock is the antique guardian of the Aletsch glacier, protector of the frozen world from the greed and carelessness of humans. According to legend, RolliBock is a terrifying creature that takes revenge on everyone and everything that tramples on nature.
Rollibock and the hunter
Woe to those who enter his territory without respect. One of the most enduring tales tells of a reckless hunter who, driven by greed, ventured into a glacier to collect scarce ice crystals that were believed to have magical properties. As he broke them from the ice, a sudden storm engulfed the glacier and a lone boatman appeared and offered him safe and sound passage.
The desperate hunter agreed, but realized too overdue that the carrier's eyes were glowing in the darkness like twin embers. Halfway through the frozen space, the ferryman's figure shifted and swelled, his fur cloak turning into pieces of tinkling ice, and his visage contorting into the monstrous form of Rollibock. With a roar that echoed across the mountains, the beast dragged the screaming man deeper into the glacier, and his screams were swallowed up by the ice.
To this day, Rollibock is blamed for sudden storms and avalanches on the Great Aletsch Glacier, a grim reminder that antique natural forces still watch over the world's highlands. They are also afraid of the mysterious Lake Märjelen, which they believed to be the place where the hunter disappeared.
Rollibock's Revenge.
Locals swear that if you hear the distant cracking of ice in a composed wind, it is best to turn back – Rollibock is already close and does not forgive intruders. And when the people of Upper Wallis experienced flooding, Rollibock was said to have become incensed. Only those who escaped to the chapel or house where consecrated objects were kept could save themselves. Those who failed were crushed like dust in the sun, swallowed by ice and snow.
It remains one of Switzerland's most unnerving alpine legends and a chilling testament to the dangers of arrogance in the face of nature's domination.
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Coming down like an avalanche through the Swiss Alps, the Rollibock monster takes revenge on man when he takes too much from nature.
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Der Rollibock – The Forgotten Creatures
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