2. The Old Murder Pit
One of the oldest mining legends of this area is the one about the old murder pit. It was first mentioned in the 16th century.
Today this mine belongs to the village of Zug, which is situated between the town of Brand-Erbisdorf and Freiberg, the “Silver City”.
Legend has it that around 1350 miners and their wives used to meet near pithead buildings on holidays for dancing and this was also the custom at one of the very famous pithead houses between the villages of Berthelsdorf and Erbisdorf.
It so happened that during a public dance with abundant serving of beer, a Catholic priest with a monstance passed by to visit a dying man. The parish clerk gave the usual sign with his little bell, which invited the dancers to pay their respects to the priest. But none of the dancers did so. Only one of the musicians interrupted his playing and dropped to his knees to pay his respects.
Suddenly the earth opened up and swallowed the whole dancing party present. Only the pious musician remained alive. He held on to a small hill until they came to his rescue.
But then the hill also sank into the depths, so that none of the dancers was ever seen again. From that time on, nothing fertile could be done at that place. Whenever the earth was cleared during the day and a shaft was dug with great effort, it collapsed again at night. Thus, neither the dancers nor the jewelry they had worn on that frightful day have ever been found.
That is why the place is known as the murder pit since around 1350.
Legend has it that around 1350 miners and their wives used to meet near pithead buildings on holidays for dancing and this was also the custom at one of the very famous pithead houses between the villages of Berthelsdorf and Erbisdorf.
It so happened that during a public dance with abundant serving of beer, a Catholic priest with a monstance passed by to visit a dying man. The parish clerk gave the usual sign with his little bell, which invited the dancers to pay their respects to the priest. But none of the dancers did so. Only one of the musicians interrupted his playing and dropped to his knees to pay his respects.
Suddenly the earth opened up and swallowed the whole dancing party present. Only the pious musician remained alive. He held on to a small hill until they came to his rescue.
But then the hill also sank into the depths, so that none of the dancers was ever seen again. From that time on, nothing fertile could be done at that place. Whenever the earth was cleared during the day and a shaft was dug with great effort, it collapsed again at night. Thus, neither the dancers nor the jewelry they had worn on that frightful day have ever been found.
That is why the place is known as the murder pit since around 1350.