HANS HEILING

[Folklore] Hans Heiling (Jan Svatos in Czech) is a legendary person from German stories of Loket castle and town in Sokolov county (today's Czech republic). Hans's Heiling was a foundling. His mother, the water nymph Oharka from the Ohre river, gave him the power to command spirits and taught him how to master magic. Hans Heiling became quite rich and powerful and also ordered spirits under his command to build a great city. The granite rocks above the Ohre, named Hans-Heiling-Felsen (Svatosske skaly), were believed to be ruins of this city. When Hans Heiling discovered that he could not achieve common human happiness even with his supernatural powers, he refused them and soon after died fighting a bear. Hans Heiling's legend was later collected C.H. Spiess and also by T. Korner. Korner's version was also adapted by Grimm brothers.