When travelling from Arbon towards Rorschach along the shore of Lake Constance, one can see, on the right, at the edge of the ridge sloping down towards the lake, a good half-hour above Steinach, a grey tower with a broad upper structure sitting upon its massive walls like a giant’s hat. This is Steinach Castle.
The last lord of Steinach lived alone in his castle as a harsh and unfeeling ruler. His subjects trembled whenever he stepped out of his fortress, for he punished without mercy, and with the utmost severity, anyone who displeased him or disobeyed his commands. His heart hardened completely when a bitter feud broke out between him and the lord of Wartensee. In cold blood, he burned villages and farmsteads and slaughtered his enemy’s serfs and servants, together with their wives and children.
The lord of Wartensee tried in vain to get at his enemy. By day, the lord of Steinach was always well armed whenever he rode out hunting; by night, he raised the drawbridge, pushed mighty bolts across the castle gate, and bloodthirsty dogs kept watch behind the walls.
At last, the lord of Wartensee won over a young woman who lived in the household of the lord of Steinach. Whenever her master sat down to eat by the window looking towards Wartensee, she was to hang a white cloth outside.
So it was done. At once, an arrow flew through the window and pierced the tyrant’s back and breast with such force that its point remained embedded in the table. As for the bloodstain on the floor, no amount of water could ever wash it away.
H. Herzog, Schweizersagen.
