The name "Düwelsteene" or "Devil's Stones" goes back to a folk tale, in which the devil, outsmarted by a cobbler, throws a sack of stones to the ground, which created this "heap of stones".
According to legend, the devil carried a sack full of large stones on his back, as he was on his way to Aachen to destroy Charlemagne's cathedral. In Heiden he met a cobbler who was carrying twelve pairs of worn shoes. When asked by the devil how far it would be to Aachen, the cobbler pointed to the shoes. The city was so far away that he had already worn all these shoes on the way from Aachen to Heiden. He had immediately recognized the devil by his cloven hoofs and could therefore deceive him with this answer. His information brought the devil, already completely exhausted from carrying the heavy stones, to angrily pour out the stones on the spot. From then on these stones were known as the Düwelsteene.
The tale written in the book: Dat Darp an de "Düwelsteene" (1922)
The different tale is often also associated with other megalithic tombs, and refers to the counting of megalithic stones. According to the stories, it is impossible to determine the number of stones used at the tomb. Jodocus Hermann Nünning already followed this legend about the Düwelsteenen in the 18th century. He even tried to count the stones with the help of several participants, he himself also tried to determine the number of stones. Even though the number of stones was often the same, he finally had to admit: "[I] did not succeed in eradicating that popular story, because it still exists now and still considers the stones not to be countable."
There is also the tradition that it is impossible to remove a stone from the tomb. If this is attempted, the removed stone will be found again the next day in its original place. Such stories are also often found in relation to other megalithic tombs.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Sources and further reading: