The city is world-renowned for its extraordinary spas, pools, and caverns.  The gallery cave where the steaming waters emerge 250 meters underground has been called “the devil’s doorway,” but the waters have been famed for their health-giving properties since the Romans occupied the area.  The Brenner Park, the most elegant of Baden-Baden’s first-class hotels, offers beauty treatments and advanced convalescent facilities in addition to its lavish accommodations.  The city’s gilded casino seems stolen from the pages of an Ian Fleming novel.  The waters and the sagas connect the city’s modern life to a mythical past.

The first tales recounted here warn of the dangers possible when the unwary are lured by wondrous creatures from another realm.  Subsequent stories suggest morals or implications that can be found in events recorded within regional histories.  Although pools and waters are frequently mentioned, no explanation for the healing powers of Baden-Baden’s spas is given.

The Mummel See.  High in the mountains of the Black Forest is a lake called Mummel See where a family of mermaids lived.  It came about that the mermaids grew ever more interested in the world of humans.  Eventually they started to come down to the village in the valley every night.

Now it was customary for village maidens to be courted by young men each evening.  The girls would spin or weave their bridal clothes, and the young people would sing and talk.  There was not much work, it was a pleasant occupation, and over time the young men and women would choose their mates.

When the mermaids visited each evening, they offered to help the girls with the work.  The mermaids told wonderful stories of the magic realm, of princes and elves, and they were quick and industrious in whatever they did.  All the boys and girls were fascinated by them.

But at 11:00 P.M., when the church bell chimed, the mermaids had to hurry home. Their father, the king of the water world, was very strict.  He was gruff and easy to anger, and he would not allow his daughters to stay late.