In the north-eastern part of the Lattengebirge, the striking Rotofen towers rise out of the forest and form a stark contrast to the otherwise rather lovely landscape of the Lattengebirge. The three Rotofen towers form a silhouette that is reminiscent of a woman lying on her back. This is how the Rotofen got its nickname, the Sleeping Witch. The witch with her distinctive nose and breasts can be seen from Bischofswiesen in the southeast as well as from Bayerisch Gmain in the Reichenhall Basin in the northwest.
As with many striking rock formations, for example the Stone Agnes in the Lattengebirge, there are several legends surrounding the Sleeping Witch. The legend of the Stone Witch on the Predigtstuhl tells of a witch more than a thousand years ago who withdrew into the solitude of the mountains because she could not stand people, especially Christians and their missionaries. She often greeted believers as a friendly hostess as they came up to the grave of Saint Zeno over the Hallthurm Pass in prayer. But the drink she offered her had poisoned her and killed so many innocent people. Sometimes she hid at a point on the path where the rocks were very steep and rolled stones down on the hikers. "One less," the witch rejoiced every time she managed to kill a Christian. This was how the evil witch wanted to prevent Christianity from coming to Berchtesgaden. When the man of God Martinus also took the path over the Hallthurm to preach to the people of Berchtesgaden, the witch rolled a heavy boulder down. Warned by the thunderous noise, he was able to jump to the side and get to safety. The witch caused another boulder to roll. Then Martinus held out a large cross that he had hanging around his neck. As the legend goes on to say, at the same moment a tremor ran through the mountains and a terrible rumble sounded like a thousand thunders. With irresistible force the witch was thrown to the ground and turned to stone. But Martinus was able to continue on his way safely. Even today, anyone who drives along the road from Reichenhall via Hallthurm to Berchtesgaden can see the petrified witch lying on the mountain peaks of the Predigtstuhl and Hochschlegel with her chin stretched up in a gruesome manner.