The Origins and Secrets of Kotouč

Many legends surround the nearby limestone hill of Kotouč (532 m), with Šipka Cave and its ancient settlement. Several tales try to explain its origin, attributing it to the Devil. According to one, the Devil wanted to marry the local miller's daughter. He failed to carry out the miller's final wish before dawn, so the money he had already brought the miller still lies beneath the hill. Another version says that the fiend once wanted to fill the Štramberk basin in a single night and carried an enormous white rock all the way from Brno. But a cock crowed and he had to drop it a short distance before Štramberk. Here is the so-called Devil's Hole, where treasures guarded by dwarfs are supposedly hidden. On the right side of the cave is an opening said to lead all the way to Radhošť and its treasures. In the vault above the entrance to the Devil's Hole is an impression of the Devil's back, while the marks of his hooves are visible in the rock nearby. When he once wanted to level the surrounding hills, he carried rocks from the mountains down to the plain here. He was carrying the Devil's Rock, which rises on the northern side of Štramberk, on his little finger. But a cock disturbed him and he had to drop it.