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The Bregenzerwald Legend of Merboth, Diedo, and Ilga

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**Source:** *The Legends of Vorarlberg, with Contributions from Liechtenstein* by Franz Josef Vonbun, No. 222, Page 173.

The inner Bregenzerwald was once an alpineThe Vorarlberger Bergkäse (mountain cheese) is a regional cheese specialty from the Austrian province Vorarlberg. » More info pastureHere in Austria, we call our fresh, natural milk for our cheese production hay milk (hay mild standard) - in Germany it is different. » More info, partially belonging to the old Counts of Bregenz, who became extinct in 1158. It was cultivated by the Benedictines of the Mehrerau Monastery in the 12th and following centuries. The first settlements to emerge were Alberschwende, Schwarzenberg, and Andelsbuch. These three places were homeRipened cheese likes it cool and moist. The best is a temperature of about 8-10 ° C at about 90% humidity. » More info to the siblings Merboth, Diedo, and Ilga, who, according to legend, lived a blessed life. They were said to belong to the nobleMold cultures are aroma-forming noble molds that grow on the surface (white noble mold) or inside a cheese (blue and green mold). » More info family of the Counts of Bregenz in the 11th century.

### The Story of Merboth
Merboth entered the Mehrerau Monastery in his youth, became a priest, and was later sent to Alberschwende for pastoral care. One Sunday afternoon, he entered a farmer’s hut and healed a sick child by laying hands on it. As he left, evildoers attacked him with clubs, killing him. A chapel was built at the site of his martyrdom in his honor, later replaced in 1744 by the larger St. Wendelins Chapel, which still stands today. Inside, a statue of the blessed Merboth rests on a stone slab supported by four stone legs over a narrow, open recess believed to be his grave. Nearby, under the chapel’s floor, a small spring flows, accessible through a narrow passage. Pilgrims with eye ailments use the water as a remedy. Merboth is particularly invoked for sick children. Worshippers place pieces of children’s clothing on the statue’s arms and lay the children themselves on the stone slab. Numerous votive plaques and wax models of children’s limbs hang inside the chapel as expressions of gratitude for miraculous healings.

A folk tale tells of a devout shoemaker who prayed in the chapel every morning. When he passed away, and his body was carried past the chapel, the bells in the tower rang by themselves.

### The Story of Diedo
Diedo, Merboth’s brother, renounced his noble heritage and withdrew to the area now known as Andelsbuch, then a dark forest. There, he lived as a hermit, serving God. He built a small cell and chapel, cleared the land, and cultivated fields, combining prayer with labor. He passed away in 1097, and his grave became the site of Andelsbuch’s parish church. Women once placed garments on his grave as a sign of veneration. In 1718, the church was rebuilt on the same site, and Diedo’s remains were moved to a small structure along the church’s northern wall, near the side altar.

A legend tells that Diedo, Merboth, and Ilga once parted ways near the “Pfister Bridge” between Egg and Andelsbuch, weeping as they did. It is said that the nearby stream has remained murky ever since. A small spring, located about forty steps from Andelsbuch’s church, is still known as *Diedobrünnlein* because the saint once drank from it.

### The Story of Ilga
Ilga, also called Hielta, was the biological sister of Merboth and Diedo. She left her parental home and moved to the Bregenzerwald to devote herself to a contemplative life. High up on the Lorenapass, on the route from Alberschwende to Schwarzenberg, Ilga bid farewell to her brothers, Merboth and Diedo, at a place where a spring of excellent water flows from solid rock—water that never freezes even in the harshest winter.

After a heartfelt farewell, Ilga collected water from this spring in her apron and carried it with her to her hermitage. About half an hour from what would later become the parish church of Schwarzenberg, she realized she had no water. She had already carried the water for three-quarters of an hour when she accidentally spilled some near her hermitage. At that very spot, a small spring immediately emerged, which can still be seen today.

She successfully brought the remaining water to her cell, poured it onto the ground, and, miraculously, another spring of the finest water gushed forth. This spring is still known today as the **Ilga Spring** (*Ilgaquelle*).

The hermit Ilga passed away in her cell in the year 1115, and later, the parish church of Schwarzenberg was built over her grave. Like the water from the Wendelins Chapel in Alberschwende, the **Ilga Spring** is frequently used by people suffering from eye ailments.