This lovely lady is by far my favorite story from Germany.
Some say she is a mermaid, for some she is a nymph or siren. Story of Lorelei is not easy to reconstruct. Much like with Scandinavian stories there are many more or less reliable sources. Essential elements of the legend of Lorelei are attributed to romantic poet and novelist Clemens Brentano, but it became famous after Heinrich Heine published a poem Die Loreley.
In this ballad Lorelei (Loreley) is a daughter of old Father Rhine, lives in a depths of the rover and singing tempting songs in the evenings, sitting on the rock named after her. Boatmen who heard her song, became so enchanted, they forgot about time and place until their vessels crashed and they drowned.
She may be an immortal being but she isn't immune to feelings such as love. In this version of the story it is said Cupid shot her with an arrow and she fell in love with fisherman. He returned the feelings and they had a romance for several weeks. Lorelei even helped him at fishing. But happiness lasted only until she heard about a young girl who also liked the handsome man.
One evening Lorelei grabbed her lover and dragged him into her underwater palace so he, drowned, could stay with her forever. This wasn't enough. She continued with her lurking singing and many men lost their lives until Prince Palatine's only son Count Ludwig heard about Lorelie.
He wanted to see her by his own eyes. Like others, he was spellbound, he lost a ship, his crew and his life. When his father found out, he immediately decided to end Lorelei's rage. Prince's army surrounded Lorelei, but she didn't really care. She laughed at them, believing her father will rescue her from any kind of danger, then she dropped the pearls from her necklace one by one into the depths of the water and finally a chariot/wave came to drive her away, under water, not to be seen anymore.
A distant murmur of her song can still be heard at the rock of the Loreley, Rhine, Germany.
Since Germany and Scandinavia share similarities I can't help but think of her as a sort of cousin to the Nix/Neck of Sweden and Norway. Maybe she's even a form of cousin to the Sjorå?
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Rhenus Pater her father. He is the Germanic God of the river.
