Die Sage vom Gockel an der Kirchenmauer von Wennigsen englisch

Teuflische Geschichten: Die Sage vom Gockel an der Kirchenmauer von Wennigsen wird zunehmend auch von ausländischen Gästen nachgefragt. Die Sage gibt es jetzt auch auf "Englisch". Der Abdruck vom Gockel  wird immer wieder an der Kirchenmauer gesucht. Mitlerweile ist der Gockel sogar zum Treffpunkt geworden. Man trifft sich in Wennigsen "beim Gockel".
Nachfolgend die Sage -englisch- 

The chanticleer on the church wall

On the southern side of the monastery of Wennigsen you can find a sandstone brick with a discoloration which looks like a chanticleer.
For centuries people have been wondering how the outline of the chanticleer ended up on the brick.
Of course there is a simple explanation. It is a common discoloration on a sandstone block which easily can be found in the Deister forest. These blocks were used in the extension works of the monastery around 1500.

But wait – the explanation is not that easy. The chanticleer is devil’s work!!

The following tale tells the story of the chanticleer on the monastery wall of Wennigsen:

The monastery of Wennigsen was founded in 12th century. The first record goes back to the year of 1224.
Beforehand there was a little church with a fortified tower, built in romanesque style.

During 13th and 14th century the monastery got rich on bestowments, heritages and purchases.
The sale of indulgences including worship of Black Madonna made the place famous far beyond the borders of Welf territory.
Where there’s churches, monasteries and devout folk, the devil’s never far.

Through his devilish infiltration satan succeeded to first seduce the nuns, and then the whole monastery to surrender themselves to worldly pleasures. This all happened by mid of 15th century.

Even serious exhortation didn’t help. So the Welf duke Wilhelm 1st with his prior named Busch finally had to undertake the journey to Wennigsen to remind the nuns of Saint Augustine’ s monastic rules.
Filled with rage, aware that he had just lost the nun’s souls, the devil vowed revenge.

He decided to do everything to make sure that the church of Wennigsen would never ever be a place of godliness and good faith again.
In 1520 the authorities decided to extend the church building in southern direction to make room for even more Christians. At this point the devil was fed up and decided to sabotage the building process disguised as a stonemason. Late at night he caused the walls to collapse again and again.

The local stonemason quickly figured out that something odd was going on.
But who was the unfriendly, causing trouble before first daylight.
They sat on watch all day, but nothing odd happened that day.
One day, not long after dusk, the swineherd’s red chanticleer crowed that loud, that the stonemasons in their huts woke up and rushed to the building lot.

They faced one of their fellows. At second glance underneeth his exterior they recognized the devil.
His horns and his little tail exposed him and he smelled of sulphuric.
The saboteur got caught in the act.

Before Satan escaped, he grabbed the chanticleer and smashed him against the sandstone block, that he had put there himself the day before. He shouted “You bloody chanticleer betrayed me!”
His toss was so tremendous, that the indentation of the chanticleer is still visible today.

The southern aisle of the church of Wennigsen could be finished without further interruption after the devil’s escape.

Whoever reckons the chanticleer to be dead is wrong.
Still today the chanticleers crowing can be heard on special occasions. It also warns the people in the monastery and in the village of Wennigsen of imminent dangers.

It is recorded that in March 1626 during Thirty Years’ War when Tilly’s troops arrived at the village border the chanticleer crowed that loud that the nun’s and many farmers were warned.
They managed to escape towards Lemmie through a tunnel and walked on to Hanover.
The deaconiss of Heimburg reported this incident in a bulletin.

The entrance to the tunnel in the church steeple cannot be accessed anymore.
It is said that bold miners went down the tunnel more than a hundred meters towards Lemmie during earlier renovations (presumably 1905-1909). That would confirm the escape route towards Hanover.

The outline of the red chanticleer on the churchwall of Wennigsen outlived wartime.
He is still visible and said to be a patron saint of Wennigsen.
In earlier days people came to Wennigsen to see the Black Madonna, nowadays people look for the chanticleer on the monastery wall.

Frei nach Winfried Gehrke (03.2019)
translated by Florentine Adam (11.2019)

Quellen: Kloster Wennigsen Vielfalt unter einem Dach Klosterkammer Hannover
Evangelische Klöster in Niedersachsen Klosterkammer Hannover Auflage 2008
Wennigsen 1200 -2000 Ein Lebenslauf Auflage 1999
750 Jahre Wennigsen (Deister) Auflage 1950
Aus Wennigsens Vergangenheit Beiträge zur Ortsgeschichte Auflage 1973
Winni`s Märchen und Geschichten Auflage 2017