Chalk men on Rügen
Do you believe in the true essence of legends and stories, some of which have endured for centuries and are told from generation to generation? Then read this story:
Folklore has it that there are dwarves on Rügen.
The different colours of the little guys indicate their abilities and probably also their mood. The black dwarfs are said to be talented but always bad-tempered craftsmen (somehow reminiscent of my gardener), while the green and brown dwarfs are friendly and sociable, but hard to spot.
So that everyone can get a picture of them, the Rügen artist Reinhardt Jost from Lietzow has created images of the Rügen dwarfs. Jost lives near a former chalk quarry and now runs a small manufactory where he makes the friendly gnomes into a typical souvenir for visitors to Rügen.
Incidentally, chalk quarrying is a traditional trade on Rügen. About 100 years ago, chalk began to be mined commercially in the north of the island. Open-cast miners chopped the chalk out of the pits with pickaxes. A real back-breaking job, perhaps that is why the help of the dwarves was urgently needed. Today, powerful hydraulic excavators do the demolition work. From the chemical industry to the wellness sector, many industries need the chalk, which is used, among other things, for detoxifying chalk packs. Of course, also in the AQUAWELL Beauty & Wellness Centre of the Aquamaris Strandresidenz.
Here you can find the Rügen chalk men:
Rügen chalk man