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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, and was cultivated by the Benedictines of the Mehrerau Monastery in the 12th and following centuries. The first settlements that emerged were Alberschwende, Schwarzenberg, and Andelsbuch, the places where the siblings Merboth, Diedo, and Ilga led a blessed life. According to legend, they belonged 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 house of the Counts of Bregenz in the 11th century.

### The Story of Merboth
Merboth entered the Mehrerau Monastery at a young age, became a priest, and was later sent to serve in Alberschwende. 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. As an act of devotion, worshippers lay pieces of children’s clothing on the statue’s arms and place 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 painting also depicts a folk legend: A devout shoemaker, who prayed in the chapel each morning, passed away, and when 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 folk tale 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 sister of Merboth and Diedo. She left her family homeRipened cheese likes it cool and moist. The best is a temperature of about 8-10 ° C at about 90% humidity. » More info to live a contemplative life in the Bregenzerwald. One day, high on the Lorena Pass—on the route from Alberschwende to Schwarzenberg—she bid farewell to her brothers at a spot where a pure spring flows from solid rock, never freezing even in the harshest winter. After the heartfelt goodbye, Ilga scooped water into her apron and carried it to her hermitage. After walking for nearly an hour, she spilled some of the water near her hut, and a spring immediately appeared. The rest she successfully carried to her cell, poured onto the ground, and, miraculously, another spring gushed forth. This source is still known today as the **Ilga Spring**.

Ilga passed away in her hermitage in 1115, and the parish church of Schwarzenberg was later built over her grave. The Ilga Spring, like the one in St. Wendelins Chapel in Alberschwende, is still used by pilgrims, especially those suffering from eye ailments.