Fairy Tale Path – The Cold Heart

The Cold Heart

At nine stops, the audio will play The Cold Heart, adapted from Wilhelm Hauff, it tells the story of the boy Peter Munk, and his pursuit of happiness. The tale features the Little Glass Man, a kind forest spirit who grants Peter three wishes, and Dutch-Mike, a gigantic, broad-shouldered fellow who wants to steal Peter’s heart.

The 10 Stops of the Fairy Tale Path

Fairy Tale Path The Cold Heart

At the Coal Pile

Timber Rafting

Trees in the Black Forest

Giants, Mermaids and Knights

Glass Making in the Black Forest

Geology and the Treasure of Bad Wildbad

Specialties of the Black Forest

The Black Forest and the Natural Preserve Black Forest Middle/North

Happiness and Tips for Outings

For Planning

3,2 km/19,9 miles, few barriers

Graveled, can be used with suitable strollers and wheel chairs

Duration: roughly 1 hour

Glassmännleinpfade (Little Glass Man paths) branch off on three spots and can be seen from the main path, but are unpaved and not suitable for strollers and wheelchairs

The Cold Heart by Wilhelm Hauff

The fairy tale The Cold Heart was published in 1827 and is set in the Black Forest. Wilhelm Hauff (1802-1827) studied theology. However, his passion was poetry. He published all his sagas, fairy tales and narrations in a span of only three years. His most famous ones are the novel Lichtenstein, the narration Das Wirtshaus im Spessart and the fairy tale Das Kalte Herz (The Cold Heart).

The Protagonists

Peter Munk
A fundamentally good, diligent but shy boy who already must fill his father’s shoes at the age of 16. Work as a charcoal burner is hard, dirty and not well respected.

The Little Glass Man
A small, kind forest spirit appearing in bloomers, red stockings and a pointy hat. He lives in an enchanted place, the fir hill, and only appears to people born on a Sunday. If they say a certain verse, the Little Glass Man grants them three wishes.

Dutch-Mike
A gigantic, broad-shouldered fellow wearing leather boots that reach above his knees. His laughter is terrible. He is a mean spirit who lives in the darkest spot of the forest. It does not bode well for those who come near him.

The Residents of the Black Forest

Those who travel Swabia should never forget to wander through the Black Forest a little. Not because of the trees – it is the people that are worth a closer look.

Its inhabitants are serious and noble. Some are concerned with glass making; they also craft clocks that are so beautiful that their art is known far beyond the border. Others proudly wear big boots made of leather and a long stick with which they push themselves away from the riverbank. Those men are called rafters. Their trade is wood, which they drive vast amounts of down the rivers.

The Black Forest people are even known at sea, since their logs are well suited for building ships.
The rafters are accustomed to a rough, wandering life. Their joy is to drive down the rivers, their sorrow is to wander back up the shores.

There is one thing that all people of the Black Forest have in common, and it is their belief in forest spirits. Most often you hear about two of their kind: A good spirit is the Little Glass Man, about three and a half feet tall. He wears a pointy hat and red stockings. But as good as one of them might be, as evil is the other: A giant in a dark doublet called Dutch-Mike. Broad shouldered and in boots that reach two spans above his knees. The Little Glass Man and Dutch-Mike reside in the forest. The most peculiar story that ever reached my ears happened to a young man from the Black Forest. His name was Peter Munk, and he met exactly those two. It is this story that I now want to tell you, and I shall not leave out any details, outrageous as they might be.