---
title: "The Devil’s Stone in Grafrath "
url: "https://usubjects.com/article/the-devils-stone-in-grafrath-4639"
updated: "2026-11-07T16:14:47.363Z"
description: "A large boulder known as the Devil’s Stone stands near Grafrath in Bavaria’s Alpine foothills. Local folklore attributes its placement to the Devil, but the account is presented as a legend surrounding the region’s unusual stones."
sources: ["https://moonmausoleum.com/the-devils-stone-in-grafrath/"]
licence: "All rights reserved"
---

# The Devil’s Stone in Grafrath 

Published: 2026-11-06  
Source: [Moon Mausoleum](https://moonmausoleum.com/the-devils-stone-in-grafrath/)

### Overview

A large glacial boulder known as the **Teufelsstein, or Devil’s Stone**, stands at the edge of a forest near Grafrath and Inning am Ammersee in Upper Bavaria. The stone has become associated with a local legend in which the Devil attempts to destroy the pilgrimage church of St. Rasso in Grafrath. Although the story belongs to regional folklore rather than documented history, it reflects the long tradition of interpreting unusual natural formations through religious tales and supernatural explanations.

The boulder is located beside a field path between the Grafrath district of Unteralting and the Inning district of Arzla. Only its upper section is visible above the ground, partly concealed by the spreading branches of coniferous trees. Source material cited by Moon Mausoleum, including a Wikimedia Commons description, estimates the stone’s volume at **approximately 5 to 6 cubic meters**.

### A Landscape Shaped by Ice

The Devil’s Stone is described as a **glacial erratic**—a large rock transported from its original location by moving ice during the last Ice Age. Such stones are common across Bavaria’s Alpine foothills, where retreating glaciers left behind boulders that can appear strikingly out of place in fields, forests and meadows.

Before modern geology provided an explanation for these formations, isolated boulders often acquired cultural and religious significance. Some were treated as places of worship, while others were given names connected to saints, demons or legendary events. In parts of Bavaria, Christian crosses and figures were placed on such stones, and churches were sometimes constructed near formations that already held local importance.

### The Legend of the Devil and St. Rasso

According to the Grafrath legend, the Devil found a massive boulder in the Alps and decided to roll it toward the **St. Rasso pilgrimage church**, intending to destroy the building. The church, located near the Ampermoor in Grafrath, was for centuries one of southern Bavaria’s important pilgrimage destinations.

The story says that the Devil encountered a peasant woman while carrying out his plan and asked her for directions. She responded that Grafrath was extraordinarily far away. To support her claim, she showed him a basket filled with worn-out shoes, saying that she had used all of them while traveling from Grafrath. The tale presents the woman’s answer as a clever deception, portraying local intelligence and practical wit as more powerful than the Devil’s strength.

### A Pilgrimage Site With Deep Regional Roots

The church of St. Rasso is associated with the tomb of Saint Rasso, a medieval figure traditionally identified as a count who ruled in the region between Lake Ammersee and Lake Starnberg. Historical and religious tradition holds that pilgrims from Bavaria, Swabia and Tyrol visited the tomb as early as the Middle Ages.

That established pilgrimage history helps explain why the church became the focus of a dramatic supernatural story. The Devil’s Stone legend places a familiar geological feature within a broader sacred landscape, linking the boulder to the protection of the church and the enduring importance of St. Rasso’s shrine.

### Folklore, Not Evidence of the Paranormal

There is no evidence that the boulder was moved by supernatural forces. Its likely geological history is consistent with the glacial processes that shaped the Alpine foothills. Still, the Teufelsstein remains a notable example of how **natural landmarks can preserve local memory and belief**. For visitors, the stone offers both a tangible reminder of Bavaria’s glacial past and an enduring connection to the legends that developed around the region’s unusual landscape.

## Provenance

This USUBJECTS page is a summary or digest of the linked original source. Any accompanying generated visual is an illustrative reconstruction, not evidence.