The Devil’s Stone

When the Gothic-style St Mary’s Church was being built in Lübeck in the mid-13th century, local legend has it that none other than Satan himself stopped by the construction site to see what was afoot. The workers, scared to tell him the truth, told the devil they were building a magnificent wine bar. The devil was so excited to have some more souls come his way, he began to lend a hand with the construction.

As the legend goes, it was only when the basilica was nearly finished that the prince of darkness realized he had been tricked. In his rage, he picked up a large slab to destroy the church, but a quick-thinking laborer promised him that they would build a wine bar in the same neighborhood. This pacified the devil, who dropped the slab right near the church.