King Laurin‘s Rose Garden

The Rose Garden is a mountain range about 20km east of Bolzano between the Schlern massif and the Karer Pass. The Rose Garden is famous mainly for the magnificent alpenglow that bathes the entire mountain range in a red-golden light at dusk. The name "Rosengarten," which is so atypical for the Alpine region, probably derives from the old word stem "ruza," which means "debris." However, a much more romantic explanation is provided by the famous legend of King Laurin's Rose Garden, which is handed down as both a folk tale and a medieval heroic epic.

King Laurin was the ruler of the dwarven people who mined for ores and gemstones in the mountains. He had a magnificent underground palace made of rock crystal and great riches, but his greatest pride was the wonderful Rose Garden in front of the entrance to his palace.

One day, when the king wanted to marry off his daughter Similde on the Etsch, he invited all the nobles of the surrounding area to a May ride, except for King Laurin. He decided to attend as an invisible guest with the help of his magic cloak. Of course, he fell in love with the beautiful Similde and promptly abducted her to his palace.

The knights, led by Dietrich von Bern, pursued Laurin and confronted him in his Rose Garden. A battle ensued, during which Laurin put on a magic belt that gave him the strength of twelve men. Nevertheless, he found himself in trouble against Dietrich von Bern, so he also put on his magic cloak, which made him invisible. However, the knights could tell by the movement of the roses where the dwarf king was, and they were finally able to overpower him and strip him of his magical items.

Laurin was taken prisoner to Bern, but before that, he cursed the roses that had betrayed him. No human eye should ever see this garden again, neither by day nor by night! However, Laurin forgot about dusk, and so it happens that the Rose Garden still blooms at sunrise and sunset.

In 1907, a Laurin fountain was erected in Bolzano on the Talfer promenade, depicting how Dietrich von Bern overpowers the dwarf king. This was intended to present the city as a Laurin city for the emerging tourism, and the Parkhotel, opened in 1910, was also named Laurin. After the occupation of South Tyrol by Italy in 1918, the Laurin fountain became embroiled in political-nationalist disputes and was damaged and dismantled by the fascists. There were also renewed discussions about its restoration. Today, the Laurin fountain can be seen in front of the Bozen Landhaus.