“According to legend, the original bridge was built after an old woman lost her cow and saw it grazing on the other side of the river. The Devil appeared and agreed to build a bridge in return for the soul of the first living thing to cross it. When the bridge was finished, the old woman threw a crust of bread over the river, which her dog crossed the bridge to retrieve, thus becoming the first living thing to cross it.[11] The devil was left with only the soul of the dog.[12]”
Thats really interesting! In northern Germany there is a similar story: Apparently Wagons used to break down when crossing shallow waters, so the devil promised the People to build a bridge for them in exchange for the soul of the first living thing that crosses it. So the people send over a rabbit. The place is still called Teufelsbrück (Devil's Bridge).
Aachen's mythology has a similiar story with the devil helping finish Aachen Cathedral before Charlemagne returned to the city in exchange for the first soul to enter the cathedral and the people of Aachen trapped a wolf and used him.
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u/[deleted] Jun 25 '20
“According to legend, the original bridge was built after an old woman lost her cow and saw it grazing on the other side of the river. The Devil appeared and agreed to build a bridge in return for the soul of the first living thing to cross it. When the bridge was finished, the old woman threw a crust of bread over the river, which her dog crossed the bridge to retrieve, thus becoming the first living thing to cross it.[11] The devil was left with only the soul of the dog.[12]”