A Legend from Luxemburg – Melusina

Luxemburg – Melusina

Melusina is said to have been the wife of the founder of Luxembourg, Count Siegfried. When they married, she had one particular request, namely that Siegfried must leave her alone for one full day and night every month, and that he should not ask or try to find out what she was doing. Of course, Melusina was such a beautiful girl, that Siegfried could not refuse her this one small wish, and all went well for years and years, when on the first Wednesday of the month, Melusina would retire into her chambers in the “Casemates,” a network of caverns underneath the city, not to be seen again until early light on Thursday.

But one day, Siegfried’s curiosity got the better of him. Wondering what on earth she might be doing alone all the time, he peeped through the keyhole, and was shocked to see that Melusina was lying in the bathtub, with a fishtail hanging over the rim. As you all know, mermaids like Melusina, have a very keen sixth sense, which tells them instantly that they are being watched, and thus she recognized her husband through the door, and jumped out of the window into the river Alzette below, never to be seen again. — Except every now and then, some people say they have seen a beautiful girl’s head pop out of the river, and a fishtail rippling the calm waters of the river Alzette.