Above and below: The Trinkhalle’s sagas and waters connect the city’s modern life to a mythical past. The building’s colonnade protects murals of the sagas.

Could such a thing have really happened? Oh yes.  Indeed, there is evidence.  Since the time of that great debate, it is said that one can see the stone where the Devil stamped his foot in rage as he was defeated.   The cloven footprint is still visible.

Nevertheless, we should all be warned.  The final battle between good and evil for the hearts of man has not been decided.  Still the Devil’s Pulpit stands across from the Angel’s Pulpit.  The old truth remains.   If you want to win over evil, you must dare to be good. You must fight with courage for the good.  You must fight to do good and be good.

Warnings and morality tales

The story retold above, of the competing pulpits of the angel and Satan, is one of fourteen sagas associated with Baden-Baden, Germany’s city of spas, and the Black Forest region and winelands to the south.  The stories combine history and myth, quote historical figures, mention real events, and depict lakes, castles, and villages that local people recognize.  But they also include elements of the fantastic and supernatural.

The sagas warn of potentially dangerous places where accidents might befall the unwary, recall tales of daring, and offer fables of morality and virtue. Together they present a synopsis of regional history as the Roman age gave way and the Christian era established itself.

The sagas are still popular and until fairly recently were taught as part of the regular German studies curriculum in Baden-Baden’s schools. They are also depicted in large, striking murals on the external walls of the Trinkhalle, the pump house and spa whose healing waters are said to be formed from rain that fell to earth almost thirteen hundred years ago.