Suicide instead of torture: A cross is reminiscent of tragedy

Created: 05.03.2022, 20:00

By: Dominik Stallein

A cross between Wolfratshausen and Geretsried is reminiscent of a tragic love story.

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The secret relationship came to a tragic end: a young raftsman took his own life.

Today a cross reminds of the drama at Geretsried.

Wolfratshausen/Geretsried – Love was ill-fated.

Even today, a wooden cross between Wolfratshausen and Geretsried, more precisely between Buchberg and Gartenberg, reminds us of the tragic story that is said to have happened more than 700 years ago.

Suicide instead of torture: A cross is reminiscent of tragedy

The young Philomena was actually free to choose: the daughter of a miller was so beautiful that rows of men asked for her hand in marriage.

Her father hoped that Philomena would choose a rich man from a good family.

What he didn't know: his daughter had already fallen in love - with a rather poor raft boy from Jachenau.

Philomena met her lover twice a week when he was in Wolfratshausen - secretly, of course, because the father wasn't allowed to find out.

Secret relationship was banned: couple must flee

But all the secretiveness didn't help: the love flew, and the miller reacted angrily.

He wanted to forbid his Philomena's relationship and the marriage that was now being considered.

He punished his daughter for the love affair and had her slave away as a lowly maid in the castle of a notorious robber baron.

Also read: A huge ghost haunted Wolfratshausen – the woman was already feared while she was alive

The raftsman, who was not supposed to find out where his beloved was, eventually found out that Philomena must be at the castle.

He disguised himself as a pilgrim and asked to be let in at the castle gate.

Philomena recognized her lover despite the disguise – the couple quickly decided to flee to Jachenau, where the young man lived.

Instead of torture and imprisonment, a raftsman took the taking

The love story didn't have a happy ending: the robber baron's cavalrymen hunted them down with search dogs and finally tracked down the fugitives.

The young raft boy knew that he would be threatened with torture - and had taken precautions.

Before he could be bound, he pulled a knife from his pilgrim's robes and stabbed himself in the heart.

On the spot where his blood could be seen on the ground for a long time, Philomena erected a red cross in eternal memory of her brave lover.

The cross is still there today.

It has been restored several times, most recently in the late 1980s.

How the beautiful miller's daughter fared after the tragedy is not known.

Legends of home in series

In our series "Legendary Homeland" we present myths and legends from the region in no particular order.

For example, about a chapel that made wishes come true - and saved lives.