Long ago, when Schönburg Castle still stood in all its glory high above the Rhine and its red slate walls reflected the light of the setting sun, seven sisters of extraordinary beauty lived there. Their father, an old knight, died early and left his daughters in the care of an elderly aunt. Yet no admonitions could tame the willful spirit of the girls. They were not only captivating in face and graceful in figure – their laughter rang like silver bells, their hair shimmered in the sunlight, and their eyes sparkled with a fire that many compared to forest nymphs who had descended from the mountains.
The fame of their beauty spread throughout the entire Middle Rhine Valley and far beyond. Minnesingers composed tender songs in their honor, knights from neighboring castles and even from distant lands made pilgrimages to Schönburg just to catch a glimpse of these wonderful maidens. Tournaments followed one after another: knights in shining armor fought for the right to present the sisters with flowers or to receive a token of their favor. Beneath the castle walls serenades rang out, and in the evenings the waves of the Rhine reflected the glow of torches while the clash of swords could be heard.
But the hearts of the seven sisters remained as cold as the slate rocks on which their ancestral home was built. No suitor, however noble, rich, or brave, could break their pride. They laughed at passionate confessions, turned away from gifts, and rejected even the most persistent wooers. “Why do we need husbands,” they said to each other, “when we are as free as the birds above the Rhine?” Their stubbornness became legendary. Some called the sisters virtuous and pure, others too haughty and cruel.
The years passed, and the number of rejected suitors grew. Eventually the men’s patience ran out. A group of knights, driven to despair, gathered at the foot of the hill and declared that they would not leave until at least one of the sisters had chosen a husband. The atmosphere around the castle grew increasingly tense. The sisters sensed that their freedom was threatened. On a quiet night, when the moon silvered the waters of the Rhine, they secretly slipped down a steep path to the river. There a small boat, prepared by a faithful servant, was already waiting. The sisters climbed in, pushed off from the shore, and waved laughing toward the castle where their angry admirers remained behind.
The boat glided swiftly downstream. The sisters rejoiced in their bold escapade, the wind played with their veils, and the Rhine seemed to aid them in their flight. But not far from Oberwesel, where the rocky promontory of Roßstein juts far out into the river, the sky suddenly darkened. A strong wind rose, the water began to churn, and a huge, unusually high wave – like the angry hand of the Rhine itself – crashed down upon the fragile boat. In an instant the boat capsized. With cries the seven sisters disappeared into the cold depths.
When the storm subsided as suddenly as it had arisen, no trace of the boat remained. At exactly that spot where the sisters had sunk, seven stones slowly rose from the riverbed – some larger, others smaller. They stood in a row like silent guardians and have been called “The Seven Maidens of Schönburg” ever since.
These stones are still visible today, especially when the water level of the Rhine falls – then they rise from the current like the dark backs of ancient monsters. The locals have long called them “Hunger Stones,” because low water has always brought hard times. In the legend, however, they became an eternal warning.
It is said that on quiet evenings, when the Rhine murmurs softly against the shore, a faint, sorrowful moan sometimes rises from the water – as if the seven sisters are still mourning their lost freedom. According to one old version of the tale, the maidens will only find peace when a mighty prince lifts these stones from the river and builds a church on the bank from them. But no such ruler has yet been found, and so the stones continue to stand in the water as a silent warning.
The legend teaches a simple but timeless truth: True beauty should not turn into cold arrogance. A heart that refuses sincere love for too long risks turning to stone forever. That is why today’s tourists, climbing up to the “Sieben-Jungfrauen-Blick” viewing platform near the old Günderodehaus, gaze at the river with a special feeling. When the water is low, the stones emerge, and everyone involuntarily reflects on the price of stubbornness and the fragility of human fate in the face of the mighty river.
Schönburg Castle, once the home of these unbending sisters, looks down from above upon the same waters. And the seven stones below continue their quiet vigil – a part of the romantic landscape of the valley, where history and fairy tale are woven so tightly together that they can no longer be separated.
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