In the past, it was the custom in Tyrol, that every village had its own weather bell which was rung when hail threatened
For farmers, the destruction done by the icy stones has always been a major threat. And if it hailed once, they blamed the sexton for ringing the bell too late. Also the village of Termeno had such a weather bell called “Wetterglocke” in German language, which protected the village during heavy storms. One day, a deal was made with the people of the neighbouring village of Caldaro:
They wanted to buy the bell because the hail which the Termeno people banished, always fell down above Caldaro when the big bell was ringing. The purchase was made and the Termeno people loaded the heavy object onto a wagon and hitched up 12 oxen. But the wagon could not be moved, not even using more oxen. All of a sudden the bell began to speak:
“Sancta Maria Anna heiß i,
schön bin i, das weiß i,
im Traminer Turm bleib i,
die schiech’n Wetter vertreib i!” that’s to say
“Sancta Maria Anna is my name,
I am beautiful and I know it,
I will stay in the steeple of Termeno,
to chase away the bad storms!”
So it was clear to the Termeno people: They had to reverse the agreement. Now only two oxen could pull back the bell to the church steeple of Termeno again.
based loosely on the book “Südtiroler Sagen”
by Bruno Mahlknecht (published by Athesia)
