ALSACAT-1800-00-00-ALSPACH-1
In his 2012 book about UFOs in Alsace, former journalist Christian Valentin unearthed a letter from a reader published in the newspaper Le Nouveau Rhin Français for October 30, 1954.
In the midst of a wave of flying saucers over France, this reader made a connection with old legends from the 1800s, wondering if "it wasn't already, at the time, flying saucers and Martians?"
One of the legends that the reader quoted was that it is said that a bailiff who wanted to see a recalcitrant debtor from the Alspach valley, had been overtaken by a coach, whose driver offered to take him away.
As soon as the bailiff took seat, they took off like an arrow to land at the "jump of the donkey" (Eselsprung). The bailiff had then lost all desire to continue his office.
The reader commented that "whereas it is risky to incriminate the Martians in these tales, one can however think about the Flying Saucers that there is nothing new under the sun!"
A specialist in Alsatian folklore gave two versions of the legend in 2012, this first:
"In the 19th century, a bailiff left before the morning Angelus to make a seizure at the Welches. On the way, he was invited to get into a carriage, but he then flew away into the sky. He then made the vow to build a chapel if he survived, and the carriage landed on the Sommerberg. The vailiff then had the Flieger chapel ["the chapel of the flying man"] built, went to mass every day, and did not leave again until the morning Angelus."
And this other one, quoted by folklorists Variot, Gravier and Henry-Munsch:
"Having a business to settle, a man leaves Kaysersberg at night to cross the mountain before daybreak. In the middle of the forest, a carriage appears. The coachman beckons him to get in. Fear seizes him when, leaning, he sees himself in the middle of the clouds, followed by the moon. In the light of day, the carriage lands violently and he is ejected. The landing place is still shown today, at the top of a mountain."
| Date: | The 1800's |
|---|---|
| Time: | ? |
| Duration: | ? |
| First known report date: | Circa 1850 |
| Reporting delay: | years, decades. |
| Department: | Haut-Rhin |
|---|---|
| City: | Kaysersbeg |
| Place: | Alspach, path and mountain top. |
| Latitude: | 48.152 |
| Longitude: | 7.237 |
| Uncertainty radius: | 2 km. |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | 1 |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | ? |
| Number of named witnesses: | 0 |
| Witness(es) ages: | Adult. |
| Witness(es) types: | Bailiff. |
| Reporting channel: | Local oral legend. |
|---|---|
| Type of location: | PAth, mountain. |
| Visibility conditions: | ? |
| UFO observed: | Yes. |
| UFO arrival observed: | ? |
| UFO departure observed: | ? |
| Entities: | Yes. |
| Photographs: | No. |
| Sketch(s) by witness(es): | No. |
| Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): | No. |
| Witness(es) feelings: | Confident, then frightened. |
| Witnesses interpretation: | Coach and coachman. |
| Hynek: | CE3 |
|---|---|
| ALSACAT: | Probably not UFO-related. |
[Ref. jbt1:] JEAN-MARC BELOT:
Kaysersberg, Mont du Soleil
In the 19th century, a bailiff left before the morning Angelus to seize the Welches. On the way, he was asked to get into a carriage, but he then flew away into the sky. He then made a vow to build a chapel if he survived, and the carriage landed on the Sommerberg. The bailiff then had the Flieger ["Flyier"] chapel built, went to mass every day, and did not leave again until the morning Angelus.
This other version collected by Miss Gerber, is a mix with the following one.
A very different version, on the theme of the moon carriage, is cited by Varot, Gravier and Henry-Munsch. It no longer concerns the solar place that is the Sommerberg, but the path of the Moon and the western region, the Beyond.
Having a business to settle, a man leaves Kaysersberg at night to cross the mountain before daybreak. In the middle of the forest, a carriage appears. The coachman motions him to get on. Fear seizes him when, bending down, he sees himself in the middle of the clouds, followed by the moon. In the light of day, the carriage lands violently and is ejected. The landing site is still shown today, at the top of a mountain.
[Ref. cvn1:] CHRISTIAN VALENTIN:
In his 1st chapter devoted to legends and celestial wonders before the era of flying saucers in Alsace, Christian Valentin reports a letter from a reader in the Kaysersberg section of the regional newspaper Le Nouveau Rhin Français for October 30, 1954.
The letter was titled: "Waren es nicht damals schon fliegenden Untertassen und Marsbewohner?" i.e. "Wasn't that already flying saucers and Martians in those days?"
This reader reported that in light of the flying saucers of that year, 1954, ancient Alsatian legends collected by Auguste Stoeber might take on new interest.
One of them is reported by this reader as follows:
It is said that a bailiff made a point of taking "the fat from the pot" from a recalcitrant debtor in the Alspach valley. As he was going there, a car passed him, whose driver offered to take him. As soon as he took his place, they flew like an arrow to land at the donkey jump (Eselsprung). The bailiff then lost all desire to continue his office.
If it is risky to incriminate the Martians in these tales, one can however think about the Flying Saucers that there is nothing new under the sun!
Alspach no longer exists as a municipality; it was at that time a priory and hamlet. These are now integrated into Kaysersberg.
|
The place called "Eselsprung" or "&OEliglberg du Eselsprung" would be rocks overlooking the RD 415 near Kaysersberg (perhaps 48.153 - 7.231). I cannot find the Sommerberg, but there is a "Sommerberg" wine grown at the foot of the Vosges, between Niedermorschwihr and Katzenthal, suggesting that the Sommerberg is probably about 5 km in a straight line south of Kaysersberg.
There are indeed two "Fliegerkapelle" ("Flying Man Chapel") near Kaysersberg, but both are linked to another legend.
The "Angelus" is a prayer, in this region and this time it was said three times a day, generally at 7 a.m., noon and 7 p.m. One of the versions speaks of the evening, and of the Moon, the other of the morning Angelus. So there is nothing certain about the time.
Ufologists have studied, in France much later than the reader of the Nouveau Rhin Français, such legends and tales, for various reasons:
We do not know to which category the reader of the Nouveau Rhin Français should belong; but he showed a certain anteriority.
As for the rest, my point of view is that there was probably never anything factual about this story; discrepancies between versions are probably a sign of this. For me, legends are not chronicles. They often have some kind of moral significance. Here, it could be that before going about earning your bread, it is appropriate to say the Angelus. Or maybe the Welches, feeling discriminated, wanted to scare. The Welche Country in Alsace includes, in the County of Lapoutroie, Fréland, Le Bonhomme, Orbey, Lapoutroie and Labaroche. The very names of these communes are explanatory: the Welches did not speak the Germanic dialect generalized in Alsace, but a Roman dialect. The Welche dialect is still commonly used there.
The idea that a "flying saucer" or extraterrestrial craft could be called a "coach" at that time would hardly surprise me. Simple effect of incommensurability. On the other hand, I think the coachman would have been described not as an coachman, but as a "devil" for example. He speaks the language of the "witness", he invites him on board, and the "witness" accepts. I don't find this "credible" at all if it had been an extraterrestrial "coachman."
Probably not UFO-related.
* = Source is available to me.
? = Source I am told about but could not get so far. Help needed.
| Main author: | Patrick Gross |
|---|---|
| Contributors: | None |
| Reviewers: | None |
| Editor: | Patrick Gross |
| Version: | Create/changed by: | Date: | Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | February 23, 2023 | Creation, [jbt1], [cvn1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | February 23, 2023 | First published. |
