2. Olsbruecken (north west of Kaiserslautern)

Capped, running spring next to hiking trail in forest district XXVI3 b Schlangendell (Snake Valley named after spring). It (stone work around spring) dates from 1965 and recapped in 1976 by the Palatinate Forest Association. The water runs off into the Rutzenbach. Zink wrote about snake springs; "At the snake spring…lie crowned snakes. Those who have the luck to drink just at the moment when they are visible, receives the most precious treasure, health."

There are several other Snake Springs in Kaiserslautern and Donnersberg Counties, including one near Rossmuelherhof between Falkenstein and Rockenhausen. The Palatinate Forest Association has placed markers by several in the "Pfaelzerwald", or the Palatinate Forest. This is now the largest contiguous stretch of forest in Germany, running from the French border to north of Kaiserslautern.

Petra von Cronenberg suggests this commonly occurring crowned snake represents the ancient gaulic goddess "Vouivre". She is a "guardian of treasures and guide to the Otherworld" and appears as a crowned snake as the spirit of springs and wells.

Heinz Cueppers in "Die Roemer in Rheinland-Pfalz", Theiss, Stuttgart, 1990, gives a listing of various names and forms of gods and goddesses. Sirona is the feminine counterpart of Apollo and Grannus as water gods. On the altar of the Roman Well Sanctuary at Hochscheid (Wittlich County – Hunsrueck region) Sirona is shown wearing a long tunic and mantel, and above her forehead she wears a diadem. A snake is entwined around her lower arm.

Up to now, I have not been able to find any other mention of Vouivre, so am inclined to trace our familiar crowned snake back to Sirona. It would be interesting to ascertain if the tradition of the crowned snake guarding a spring occurs in parts of Germany that were beyond the "Limes"; the border fortification that marked the edge of the area controlled by Rome.

Another variation of the snake well theme follows. Erzhuetten is a small village just northwest of Kaiserslautern.

One hot summer day a young girl from Erzhuetten went to the Vogelwoog (Bird Pond) to mow hay. She took off her bodice and kerchief and left them on the banks of the pond.

A Snake Queen in the nearby woods had become so overheated that she hurried to the pond in order to swim and cool off. She laid her crown on the girl’s red kerchief and dived into the water.

The girl found the crown, packed it up, and hurried home with it. She reached her home and slammed the door shut behind her.

As soon as the Snake Queen discovered the theft of her crown, she followed the girl’s tracks to Erzhuetten and leapt against the closed door. The door cracked into two pieces, but the snake burst into several pieces. The young girl was safe and the crown remained hers.