Blautopf

The Blautopf (German for Blue pot) is a spring that is considered the source of the river Blau in the karst landscape on the Swabian Jura's southern edge.

Because of its high water pressure, the spring has developed a funnel-like shape with a depth of 21 metres (69 ft).

A similar effect is observed at the Blue Lagoon near Reykjavík, where the color originates from nanoscale silica particles.

Prominent examples are the Blauhöhle (Blau-cave), discovered by Jochen Hasenmayer in 1985,[2] and the Apokalypse (Apocalypse), discovered on 23 September 2006 by Jochen Malmann and Andreas Kücha, members of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Blautopf, a club dedicated to the exploration of the Blautopf's cave system.

Because of this tale, there is a rock called Klötzle Blei ("little block of lead" in the local dialect) in the vicinity of the Blautopf.

A well-known tongue-twister in the Swabian dialect told to local children, refers to this rock: Standard High German: English Translation: The novelist and poet Eduard Mörike incorporated this folklore and other tales into the romantic novella Das Stuttgarter Hutzelmännlein.

In particular, the story of the Schöne Lau, a mermaid, and her husband, a male water-nix from the Black Sea, is told in great detail.