In The Gifts, Max takes Romy on her first ride into the forest and tells her of the legend of King Laurin.
There seem to be quite a few versions of this fable, but the following is my take on my favourite interpretation.
Laurin was, it’s claimed, a Dwarf King who ruled from his palace made of crystals, silver and gold; riches that his Dwarf army had dug from the mountains.
His wealth was unbound, but his most prized possessions were two magical items that gave him extraordinary power; A belt, that when worn, gave him the strength of twelve men, and a cloak of invisibility. Given that there were giants roaming the mountains, these items were indispensable to his survival.
But his special pride and joy was the rose garden which he had tenderly planted in front of the entranceway to his underground crystal castle. Wonderful roses blossomed in this garden, with a scent that was enchanting. Laurin was jealously protective of his roses, and declared that anyone who dared to even touch one would pay dearly. Their left hand and right foot be severed from their body. He wove a golden thread of silk throughout his entire rose garden instead of a fence, so that he would know if anyone had dared to touch them.
One day, in a neighbouring kingdom, a beautiful maiden called Similde was offered by her father, the King, as a prize to the most eligible suitor. A tournament was organised to decide who would win Similde’s hand, and young princes and knights travelled from afar to fight for the right to take her as their bride.
When Laurin heard of this, he flew into a rage. Why hadn’t he been invited to take part? Did Similde’s father think him unworthy?
Laurin conspired to enter that kingdom and see the revered Similde with his own eyes, and donning his cloak and belt infiltrated the festivities.
As he watched silently from his safe confines, he fell completely in love with the enchanting maiden. He eventually manoeuvred himself close enough to snatch her up and spirit her away on his horse before anyone had a chance to catch him.
However, Similde’s suitors followed them until they finally arrived at Laurin’s cave.
It’s said that Laurin, in his cloak of invisibility, watched unseen as they advanced. But as he paced the entrance of his cave, they saw that the roses were moving and swaying in a strange way, and cunningly captured the king, destroying his rose garden in the mêlée.
Laurin was enraged. His beautiful roses! His beloved Similde, now lost to him!
But Laurin was cunning, and he masked his anger and invited the victors to join him in a feast. The young men, tired from the fight, agreed to enjoy the spoils of their victory, and ate and drank themselves into a stupor, barely able to resist when Laurin’s army attacked them, trying to take them as prisoners.
However, some were still too strong for Laurin’s men, and managed to overcome their attackers and bring the lovely Similde back into their possession.
They chained Laurin, and as they dragged him away from his palace, he turned to take one last look at his home. Seeing the destroyed garden, he cursed the place. “Neither by day nor by night should anyone again admire this lovely sight”. But in his haste, he forgot to mention the twilight time between night and day, and so the Catinaccio, which is called Rosengarten in German, sometimes glows in fascinating shades of pink, red and purple at dawn and dusk.
The glowing mountains are visible all the way down to the small city of Bolzano/Bozen, and there are those who swear that when you hike through the realm of King Laurin, you can sometimes still smell his roses.
Today, you find hotels and bars named after Laurin and Similde all throughout Val d’Ega, the home of the famously beautiful Carezza lake. Which brings us to more legends …
