10 Euro, Charlemagne in the
Untersberg, 2010
According to
legend Emperor Charles the Great (Charlemagne) inside
the Untersberg,
taken care of by the "Untersberger Mandln", small
dwarf-like creatures.
His beard is said to be growing longer and longer around a
round table and to have grown round two times.
Myth says that when
the beard has grown three times around the table the end of
world has come. Every hundred years he awakes and
when he sees the ravens still
flying around the Untersberg he sleeps for
another century.
When
Charlemagne leaves the mountain, the last great battle
of humankind
will be fought on the Walserfeld. This is a field at Wals -
West of
Salzburg.
- The obverse shows a dwarf who is showing a young
shepherd boy the way into the Untersberg. The ravens can be seen
circling the craggy mountain.
- On the other side the dwarf
leads the shepherd boy into the cavernous chamber where the Emperor
Charlemagne sits on his throne sunk deep in sleep. Next to him stands a
sleeping soldier leaning on his spear. Charlemagne’s beard
has crept
twice around the base of the great stone table. The dwarf seems
unconcerned, but the boy views the sleeping monarch warily.
