The matter of Swiss Water-monsters and dragons came up recently in regards to the "Nothosaur" said to reside in in Lake Como in Italy.
http://frontiersofzoology.blogspot.com/2013/12/lake-como-monster-italy.html
I said a sequel was following then but there were delays, and so to contribute toward tat discussion, here is the information from George Eberhart's Mysterious Creatures (2002) concerning Water Monsters in the general area of the highlands of Central Europe:
Germany
Chiemsee, Bayern State. Max Pertl hooked a
huge fish on June 22, 1991, probably a Wels catfish
(Siluris glanis). Ulrich Magin, Trolle, Yetis,
Tatzelwürmer (Munich, Germany: C. H. Beck,
1993), pp. 48–49.
Frickenhausen, Bayern State, lake near. Johann
Nepomuk Sepp, Altbayerischer Sagenschatz zur
Bereicherung der indogermanischen Mythologie
(Munich, Germany: E. Stahl, 1876).
Mummelsee, Baden-Württemberg State.
Athanasius Kircher, Mundus subterraneus (Amsterdam:
J. Janssonium and E. Weyerstraten, 1665);
Hans Jakob Christoph von Grimmelshausen, Der
Abenteuerliche Simplicissimus Teutsch (Nuremberg,
Germany: Johann Fillion, 1669).
Seealpsee, Bayern State. Contains a sleeping
DRAGON. Karl Reiser, Sagen, Gebräuche und
Johann Nepomuk Sepp, Altbayerischer Sagenschatz
zur Bereicherung der indogermanischen Mythologie
(Munich, Germany: E. Stahl, 1876).
Starnbergersee, Bayern State. Legendary animal.
“Drache,” in Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli, ed., Handwörterbuch
des deutschen Aberglaubens (Berlin: W.
de Gruyter, 1929–1930).
Uelmansee, Rheinland-Pfalz State. Two huge
fish appeared before the death of an Uelman heir.
Philipp Wirtgen, Die Eifel in Bildern und Darstellungen
(Bonn, Germany: A. Henry, 1864–1866).
Walchensee, Bayern State. A “giant whale” [sturgeon?]or
serpent allegedly lives here. Friedrich Panzer, Bayerische
Sagen und Bräuche (Munich, Germany: C.
Kaiser, 1848–1855); Johann Nepomuk Sepp, Altbayerischer
Sagenschatz zur Bereicherung der indogermanischen
Mythologie (Munich, Germany: E.
Stahl, 1876).
Weiße Elster, Sachsen-Anhalt State. Huge fish.
August Witzschel, Sagen aus Thuringen (Vienna:
W. Bräumüller, 1866); Robert Eisel, Sagenbuch des
Voigtlandes (Gera, Germany: C. B. Griesbach,
1871).
Ziereinersee, Brandenburg State. Legendary animal.
“Drache,” in Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli, ed.,
Handwörterbuch des deutschen Aberglaubens
(Berlin: W. de Gruyter, 1929–1930).
Zwischenahner Meer, Niedersachsen State. A
12-foot animal was seen several times in April
1979. Possibly a Wels catfish (Siluris glanis). Die
Rheinpfalz, August 30, 1979; Ulrich Magin, “A
Brief Survey of Lake Monsters of Continental Europe,”
Fortean Times, no. 46 (Spring 1986):
52–59.
Italy
Lago Amadoier. Ulrich Magin, “A Brief Survey
of Lake Monsters of Continental Europe,” Fortean
Times, no. 46 (Spring 1986): 52–59.
Lago di Como, Lombardy. Rumors of a scaly
monster seemed to be verified when a large Sturgeon
(Acipenser sturio) was caught in November
1946, though a smugglers’ submarine was also
confiscated the following year. “Sea Monster Reported,”
New York World-Telegram, November
20, 1946; Gary S. Mangiacopra, “The Lake Como
Monster,” Pursuit, no. 71 (1985): 122–123.
Lago Maggiore, Piedmont.
Ulrich Magin, “A Brief Survey of Lake Monsters
of Continental Europe,” Fortean Times, no.
46 (Spring 1986): 52–59.
Po di Goro, Emilia-Romagna. A black, 10-foot
“snake with legs” was reported in June 1975 by
Maurizio Trombini. Experts claimed it was an escaped
crocodile. La Stampa (Turin), June 28–29,
1975; Edoardo Russo, “Meanwhile in Italy: The
Goro Monster,” Pursuit, no. 35 (Summer 1976): 62.
Die Rheinpfalz, July 21, 1982; Ulrich Magin,
“A Brief Survey of Lake Monsters of Continental
Europe,” Fortean Times, no. 46 (Spring 1986):
52–59.
Tiber River, Rome. In the sixth century, a
DRAGON appeared when the river was flooded. Its
body was like a large beam of wood. Gulielmus
Durantis, Rationale divinorum officiorum (Augsburg,
Germany: Günther Zainer, 1470).
Austria
River Glan, Kärnten State.
Goggau See, Kärnten State. Fish with a sawtooth
dorsal ridge. Georg Graber, Sagen aus Kärnten
(Graz, Austria: Leykam-Verlag, 1944).
Toplitzsee, Steiermark State. A 48-foot animal
bit through an underwater video cable and threatened
two divers. John Kirk, In the Domain of Lake
Monsters (Toronto, Canada: Key Porter Books,
1998), p. 244.[Possibly an exaggerated account of a big fish]
Urisee, Tirol State. “Seeschlange,” in Hanns
Bächtold-Stäubli, ed., Handwörterbuch des
deutschen Aberglaubens (Berlin: W. de Gruyter,
1929–1930).
Czech Republic
Zachrast’any, East Bohemian region, stream
near. Marie de Vaux Phalipau, Les chevaux merveilleux
dans l’histoire, la légende, les contes populaires
(Paris: J. Peyronnet, 1939), p. 258.
Switzerland
Doubs River, Canton Jura. A snakelike animal
with a blue back and yellow stomach was seen
in 1934. It moved by undulating.
New York Herald Tribune, June 20,
1934.
Lake Geneva, Canton Vaud. Ulrich Magin, “A
Brief Survey of Lake Monsters of Continental Europe,”
Fortean Times, no. 46 (Spring 1986):
52–59.
Reuss River, Canton Luzern. In 1468, a DRAGON
emerged from the Vierwaldstätter See and swam
into the River Reuss. Other appearances took place
in 1480 and 1566. Renward Cysat, Collectanea
chronica und denkwürdige Sachen pro chronica
Luchernensi et Helvetiae [1614] (Lucerne, Switzerland:
Diebold Schilling Verlag, 1961–1972); Johann
Jakob Scheuchzer, Helvetica (Leiden, the
Netherlands: Petri Vander Aa, 1723); Alois Lütolf,
Sagen, Bräuche, Legenden aus den fünf Orten Luzern,
Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden und Zug (Lucerne,
Switzerland: J. Schiffmann, 1862); Theodor von
Liebenau, Das alte Luzern topographisch-kulturgeschichtlich
Geschildert (Lucerne, Switzerland:
C. F. Prell, 1881).
Rotsee, Canton Luzern. In 1599, a serpent
emerged from the lake and provoked a panic; an
animal that looked like a wooden beam also lived
there. Renward Cysat, Collectanea chronica und
denkwürdige Sachen pro chronica Luchernensi et
Helvetiae [1614] (Lucerne, Switzerland: Diebold
Schilling Verlag, 1961–1972); Johann Leopold
Cysat, Beschreibung dess berühmbten Lucerner- oder
4.Waldstätten Sees (Lucerne, Switzerland: David
Hautten, 1661).
Selisbergsee, Canton Uri. See ELBST.
Elbst
F reshwater Monster of Switzerland.
Etymology: From the Old German albiz
(“swan”).[Alternately a reference to the Alps, ie, "Alpine"]
Physical description: Serpentine. Sometimes
looks like a drifting log. Reddish color.
Head the size of a pig’s. Scales. Clawed feet.
Behavior: Favors stormy weather. Creates a
big wake. Travels on land at night. Eats sheep and cattle.
Distribution: Selisbergsee, Canton Uri, Switzerland.
Significant sightings: First reported in 1585
and last seen in 1926 by workers building a new
road.
Sources: Renward Cysat, Collectanea chronica
und denkwürdige Sachen pro chronica Luchernensi
et Helvetiae [1614], vol. 4 (Lucerne,
Switzerland: Diebold Schilling Verlag,
1961–1972); C. Kohlrusch, ed., Schweizerisches
Sagenbuch (Leipzig, Germany: R. Hoffmann,
1854); Josef Müller, Sagen aus Uri aus dem
Volksmunde gesammelt, vol. 1 (Basel,
Switzerland: Gesellschaft für Folkskunde, 1926).
[Lake Zurich Monster noted on Cryptozoology message board]
[A similar water monster is reported in
Romania, I do not know the name for it]
Former
Yugoslavia
Carska bara, Serbia. Smashing, bubbling, and
croaking sounds are heard. Karl Shuker, “Serbian
Swamp Squid,” Fortean Times, no. 150 (October
2001): 21.
In the seventeenth century, the Olm
(Proteus anguineus), a cave-dwelling, aquatic
salamander of Yugoslavia and northern Italy,
was thought to be the offspring of a Dragon.
It has an eel-like body, white skin, three
pairs of external gills, four tiny legs, and
vestigial eyes. It grows to about 12 inches
long. When washed out of their caves by
heavy rainfall, Olms gather in deep pools,
but they will not voluntarily leave the water.
This potentially means that the young of dragons resemble olms.
Young dragons are supposed to be wormlike and they are called "Wyrms"
Most "Dragons" reported in this area are big water lizards that are often reported as being loglike, often in the range of 5-10 feet long: probably none of them are very large. Ordinarily they seem to be like the larger form of Tatzelwurm (with four legs) but this kind ordinarily lives in the water and does not usually leave it (They are commonly blamed for losses in livestock, however) they are ordinarily brownish or black on the back and paler on the belly, also said to be spotted . The head is big, round and blunt, and often compared to the head of a pig.
Secondary regions where the same species seem to occur include the Celtic lands of the British Isles and around the Baltic Sea. They have been becoming scarcer throughout historic times.
It is probably the modern survival of Andrias Scheuchzeri the famous "Man witness to the Flood" fossil found near Lake Constance, which is on the border of Switzerland
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrias_scheuchzeri
Andrias scheuchzeri is an extinct species of giant salamander, which only is known fromfossils. It lived from the Oligocene to the Pliocene.[1] It and the extant A. davidianus [The Chinese Giant Salamander] cannot be mutually diagnosed, and the latter, only described in 1871, is therefore sometimes considered a synonym of the former.[2]
History: In his book Lithographia Helvetica from 1726, Johann Jakob Scheuchzer described a Miocene fossil found in Oeningen as Homo diluvii testis (Latin: Man, a witness of the Deluge), believing it to be the remains of a human that drowned in the biblical Deluge. The fossil was about 1 m (3 ft) long, lacked its tail and hind legs, and could thus be interpreted as showing some resemblance to the remains of a violently trampled human child.
In 1758, the first to doubt his theory was Johannes Gessner, who thought it was a giant catfish (Siluris). In 1777 Petrus Camper thought it was a lizard (Lacerta), and at that time there was no differentiation between reptiles and amphibians by the scientific community. In 1802Martin van Marum bought this fossil along with a fossilized swordfish for 14 Louis d'or for the Teylers Museum, where it can still be seen in the original showcase. In 1811, the fossil was examined by Georges Cuvier, who recognized it definitively as not being human. After hacking away gently at the fossil, he uncovered the foremost limbs and the specimen was recognized as a giant salamander. The difference in color of the stone shows what Scheuchzer saw and what Cuvier later could see.
The specimen was renamed Salamandra scheuchzeri by Holl in 1831. The genus Andrias was only coined six years later by Johann Jakob von Tschudi. In doing so, both the genus,Andrias (which means image of man), and the specific name, scheuchzeri, ended up honouring Scheuchzer and his beliefs. The Teylers Museum has several other specimens in their collection in addition to this one.
In Fiction: The fictional descendents of Andrias scheuchzeri are the primary antagonists in Karel Čapek's 1936 science fiction novel War with the Newts.
Sources
Above, the living version of the species from China, which is a "Known" animal
Below, range maps for the Chinese giant salamander and then the Japanese giant salamander map at bottom. I found a second Chinese giant salamander map showing reports from outlying districts and superimposed that on the other map. The base maps are from BBC Nature and the red dots map is attributed to TEN - Treasure Sites [Threatened Species - Endangered Reptiles & Amphibians] on the reference site where I got the information (Think Quest)
[NB, the European creature is NOT a Cryptid if this is its true identity]
Homo_diluvii_testis_by_Gastrolito on Deviant Art
