Was Grindelwald Switzerland named after a medieval dinosaur?
CLAIM : The town of Grindelwald, Switzerland (est. 1146 CE) is named after the dinosaur or pterosaur that once lived there. (Thomas, 2013 , p. 18) RESPONSE : While there is dragon mythology associated with the Klein Schreckhorn, a mountain south of Grindelwald, the creature described in the story not only has no dinosaur-identifying features at all, but is not associated with the name of the town either. THE SCHRECKHORN LEGEND A descriptive version of the myth is recorded by linguist Emanuel Friedli in his comprehensive 1908 Bärndütsch als Spiegel bernischen Volkstums: Grindelwald , which focused on the local folk life and history of the area, including the history of place names, farming habits, weather sayings, architecture, etc. This was the earliest and fullest printed version I was able to locate. According to Friedli, a "terrible dragon" once devastated the Grindelwald region, devouring herds of animals and killing people. A brave villager confronted the creature, bind...