Lorelei

Lorelei (lôr`əlī, Ger. lō`rəlī), cliff, 433 ft (132 m) high, on the right bank of the Rhine River, near St. Goarshausen, W Germany, about midway between Koblenz and Bingen. There the Rhine forms a dangerous narrows, and in German legend a fairy similar to the Greek Sirens lived on the rock and by her singing lured the sailors to their death. Heinrich Heine's poem, Die Lorelei, is world famous. The rock has sometimes been identified as the place where the hoard of the Nibelungs is hidden under the Rhine.

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Lorelei

Rock on the bank of the Rhine River near Sankt Goarshausen in Germany. It produces an echo and is associated with the legend of a beautiful maiden who drowned herself over a faithless lover. She was transformed into a siren who lured fishermen to their death. Clemens Brentano claimed to have invented the essentials of the legend. Heinrich Heine's poem on the Lorelei has been set to music by more than 25 composers.

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Lorelei

water nymph of the Rhine; lured sailors to their doom with her singing. [Ger. Folklore: Leach, 645]

See : Enchantment

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Lorelei

siren; lured ships to destruction with singing. [Ger. Folklore: Benét, 599]

See : Seduction

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Lorelei

siren whose singing lured ships to their destruction. [Ger. Lit.: Benét, 599]

See : Singer