Das kalte Herz

In the “cold heart”, the poet Wilhelm Hauff differentiates between the Baden and Württemberg parts of the northern Black Forest. While the people in Baden were mainly concerned with the production of glass and clocks, the people of Württemberg lived mainly from rafting. The fairy tale tells the fate of a coal burner named Peter Munk. Peter Munk is not satisfied with his life as a charcoal burner. The prosperity of others painfully reminds him of his own poor existence. In this situation, the stories of the Glasmännlein and the Holländer-Michel come to mind, which would have already helped some other people to respectable fame and fortune. If only he could think of the complete verse of the treasure house in the fir forest, then the Glasmanchen would bring him to prosperity . One day he sets out for the dark Tannenbühl, where people suspect the glass man’s place of residence. But because he cannot find the right words, the apparition does not appear. Instead, it starts to be haunted, and Peter takes refuge in a remote raftsman’s hut. There, the grandfather of the family tells him the saga of the Holländer-Michel, a capable and ambitious giant who brought the raft wood to Holland and made a lot of money because of the additional profit. But with the money, bad words, drink, gambling addiction and other bad customs also got into the Black Forest. Since then, Michel has been haunted in the forest, the old man reports to Peter Munk. in the hut. Due to a coincidental occurrence, Peter Munk heard the complete version of the Schatzhauser song from passing boys the next morning. He immediately rushes back into the dense forest to find the glass man – and on the way there meets the terrifying figure of the Dutchman Michel, who beckons with riches. But Peter escapes him and then asks the glass man to fulfill three wishes. First of all, Peter wants the ability to dance better than the best dancer around. Second, he asks the most beautiful and richest glassworks for his possession. The glass man is saddened by the choice of Peter and therefore initially refuses his third wish. Peter Munk is enjoying his new life to the full. But the glassworks neglects its taverns so that one day it goes bankrupt. He therefore showered the glass man with reproaches and confided in the Holländer-Michel. He promises to help him out of trouble. The help comes at a high price, however., Peter’s humanity. The condition of the Holländer-Michel is that Peter Munk let him leave his heart to him. In exchange, he receives a heart of stone that immunizes him against all human compassion. Once again, Peter tastes his wealth and social prestige to the full. But his heart remains cold and without any emotion. Peter Munk is wealthy, but has a heart made of stone. Gradually he feels the negative consequences of his inhuman and meaningless existence. At the height of his crisis he kills his own wife Lisbeth in a rage just because she helped an old beggar with alms. A remnant of human emotion still pounds in Peter’s chest. He is desperate and therefore decides to confide in the glass man again. After all, he still has one wish open. Instead of fulfilling Peter Munk’s third wish, the glass man reveals to him how he can use a trick to get his lost human heart back from the Dutchman Michel. The ruse works, and in the end Peter Munk ends up back at the beginning: as Koehler in the deep forest. When his beloved Lisbeth comes to life again, he is happy and lives contentedly to the end.