Teufelskeller

Very pretty to look at... But hands off, climbing forbidden

When the Rhön was still pagan, the devil still felt like the master of the area. Then St. Kilian came into the country, preached Christianity, and many were baptized. The devil was terribly annoyed. When it was even started to build a church in the valley, the devil became so angry that he dragged all the stones that had been brought in to build the church onto the Gangolfsberg and put them together so tightly that no one was able to apart. When people noticed this, they drew a cross on each brick. Then the devil had to keep his hands off. But the stones that he had previously brought up formed the Devil's Church.
In this devil's church, which was actually just a dark cave, the devil lived hidden and continued to mischief on earth. Unsuspecting farmers, berry hunters or hard-working forest workers had to make his acquaintance. He offered the good people money to win them over to his machinations and to keep them from going in the right direction. One day, however, someone trusted a pastor because he had a guilty conscience. The same day, some brave men went out with the priest to drive the devil out of his hiding place with prayers and holy water. And so it happened. At the cave it smelled bestial of sulfur and when the priest sprayed the holy water, the devil cursed out of the cave and has not been seen since. That is why the place is still called Teufelskeller today and sometimes it still smells of sulfur here today.

The Teufelskeller is a particularly "wild" section due to the volcanic gestural information with huge boulders and steep rock faces. Absolutely impressive.

Striking and legendary rock formations

The Teufelskeller is a cave on the southern slope of the Gangolfsberg near Oberelsbach in the Lower Franconian district of Rhön-Grabfeld, which was created by breaking off a rock from the rock face behind it.
The cave is located about 800 meters above sea level.(Source: Wikipedia)

You can see in the crevices rusty hooks from the time when it was still allowed to climb here. At the chalk stains one recognizes however that here at least occasionally like bouldering is.

Legendary cave that you should definitely visit

Looks the other way around in every season.

Woodruff blossom in the Elstal on the Gangolfsberg

A mighty rock.
Legend of the Devil's Cellar: When the Rhön was still pagan, the devil still felt like he was the master of the area. Then St. Kilian came to the country, preached Christianity, and many were baptized. The devil was terribly angry about this. When they began to build a church in the valley, the devil became so angry that he dragged all the stones that had been brought to build the church to the Gangolfsberg and assembled them into a grotto so tightly that no one could stand them anymore can break apart. When people realized this, they drew a cross on each building block. The devil had to keep his hands off it. But the stones that he had previously brought up formed the Devil's Church.
In this devil's church, which was actually just a dark cave, the devil lived hidden and continued to wreak havoc on earth. Unsuspecting farmers, berry hunters and hard-working forest workers had to make his acquaintance. He offered the good people money in order to win them over to his machinations and to lead them astray. One day, however, someone confided in a priest because he had a bad conscience. That same day, some brave men went out with the priest to drive the devil out of his hiding place with prayers and holy water. And so it happened. There was a terrible smell of sulfur in the cave and when the priest sprayed the holy water, the devil ran out of the cave cursing loudly and has not been seen since. That's why the place is still called Teufelskeller today and sometimes it is said to still smell of sulfur here.