The beautiful Lau at the Blautopf
...tells her story
Lots of legends and stories have the Blautopf as their setting, the best known being the story of the beautiful Lau by Eduard Mörike (1804–1875). It is a romantic fairy tale about a water nymph from the Black Sea who was banished to the Blautopf: “At the bottom of the Blue Pool there once was a water nymph with long, flowing hair. Her body was from head to toe that of a beautiful woman, except for the fact that she had webbed fingers and toes, the thin skin lily white and finer than a poppy leaf...". The beautiful Lau was married to the old Water King of the Black Sea. He bore a grudge against his wife because she was unable to give birth to a healthy child. Her mother-in-law was convinced that the reason for her infertility was her constant sadness and predicted that only laughter would have a curing effect. Her husband therefore banished her to the underwater palace in the distant Blautopf. Here her maids tried their very best to make their distressed mistress laugh, but they failed to brighten her up. In the end, it was some local women's actions, a chamber pot, a stolen kiss and a tongue twister that provoked the liberating laughter. Every now and then you can still hear her pealing with laughter at the Blautopf.
The stone sculpture of the beautiful Lau
The stone sculpture portraying Eduard Mörike's water nymph beautiful Lau was created by Fritz von Grävenitz (1892-1959). It is believed that the artist's sister Marianne (1889-1983) was the model for this statue. Marianne von Grävenitz was the mother of the former Federal President Richard von Weizäcker. Fritz von Grävenitz later sold this sculpture to Blaubeuren as beautiful Lau. The town also bought another version of the statue. It is made of bronze and here the beautiful Lau has proper feet. While the stone sculputre greets the visitors of the Blautopf, the bronze statue welcomes people at the entrance of the outdoor swimming pool. Fritz von Grävenitz made a career under the Nazi regime and was director of the Stuttgart Art Academy from 1938 to 1946.
