The Celtic connection and the Untersberg from Scott Lund

The greatest flourishing of the Celts, around the middle 
of the first millenium BC, is known as Hallstadt culture. 
While the mines and settlements of the Celts around 
Hallstatt are impressive, they do not really compare in 
size and scope with those of the Salzburg-Berchtesgaden 
area. 

It is interesting that a number of early proto-Celtic 
settlements, coming at the transition from the Stone Age 
to the Metal Age, seem to be oriented toward the 
Untersberg. So there is a suggestion that the Untersberg 
may have had religious importance as far back as the 
Neolithic Age. Such sites include the Rainberg, Hellbrunn, 
and Zill.

The Celtic empire, around 500 BC, stretched as far as 
Ireland to Turkey, with its greatest strength concentrated 
roughly over what is now Austria. Could it be that Salzburg 
was the center of this concentration? What scholar can show 
evidence of an area with greater wealth and activity for 
the Celts? The vast size of the Celtic empire, and the many 
diverse tribes that formed a rather loose confederation, 
must have been held together primarily though the travelings 
of Druidic priests, who brought a Runic alphabet and a sense 
of common language and identity throughout. So, if cultural 
identity was held together primarily through religious 
beliefs, a geographic center for those beliefs is only 
logical. The Untersberg could have been that center. We do 
not know, of course, but the Untersberg is a most logical 
place. It is certainly a fact that, within the entire 
European alps, there is no mountain that is associated with 
as many legends, and with more important legends, as the 
Untersberg.

In Cambridge Ancient History, Salzburg is mentioned 
specifically as the southern-most point at which place-names 
associated with Wotan (Odin) can be found in a southward 
descent from Northern Europe. Teutonic gods and myths were 
mostly built from the already existing Celtic ones, and 
Teutonic gods came long after the Celtic Golden Age known 
as Hallstatt culture. It is not that Teutonic Wotan worship 
descended south to Salzburg, but that an already existing 
Celtic cult of Wotan seems to have survived the northern 
spread of Christianity, and refused to be erased. In 
particular, there are a number of place names around the 
Untersberg itself, which can be shown to be derivitive of 
the name LWotanL. The Untersberg itself, heads the list 
of mountains in the alps which are specifically associated 
with Wotan, and there is some circumstantial evidence to 
support the importance of the Untersberg to the early Celts 
who inhabited this area. So strong is the UntersbergLs 
association with Wotan, that even Charlemagne (Kaiser Karl) 
cannot ride out from the mountain with his troups without 
taking on the impression of Wotan leading the Furious Host.

Another reason why we should expect to find worship of Wotan 
strongest in the Salzburg area, is because it was near the 
northern boundary of the Roman Empire. The Celtic god Wotan 
has always been strongly identified with the Roman god 
Mercury. While some are of the opinion, or would like to 
believe, that the Celtic gods came entirely from within some 
sort of pure culture that was not influenced by other 
civilizations around them, the evidence strongly suggests 
the contrary. History has always shown that cultures most 
often defer to the gods of those who have more advanced 
technology, more sophisticated means of trade, and grander 
architectural achievements. The Celts were no exception. 
They admired the might of the Romans, and certainly 
incorporated the pantheon of Greek and Roman deities at an 
early date. For instance, the dynamic between Wotan and Thor 
is entirely similar to that of Mercury and Jupiter (or Hermes 
and Zeus). The Romans borrowed their gods from the Greeks, 
and the Celts must surely have had their religious ideas 
greatly influenced through contact with both the Greeks and 
Romans. In much the same way, we can see that the Runic 
alphabet (which varies somewhat), is unquestionably descended 
from the Phoenician, Greek, and Roman alphabets, and must 
have had great religious symbolism associated with it from 
the very beginning. The Druidic priests had two primary tools 
to forge a common identity for the Celtic peoples who stretched 
from Ireland to Turkey: the Runic alphabet and a Pantheon of 
Gods.

Therefore, it would not be surprising to find that an area 
where the worship of Wotan was very strong, would also be an 
area where the mixing and bonding of Romans and Celts was 
extremely strong. Such is the case with the Salzburg area. 
While the Celts had their own unique artistic expression of 
divinity, there probably is not a whole lot of difference 
between Wotan racing through the sky on an 8-legged horse, 
and Mercury racing through the sky carrying a caduceus shaped 
in a figure-8. Of one thing we are certain: Salzburg (Juvavum) 
represented the most important northern city of the Roman Empire. 
While Wien was just an army camp, Salzburg was a flourishing 
city of temples, commerce, and in particular, astronomical 
activity. In Salzburg, Romans married Celts, and Celts became 
mercenaries for the Roman army. It seems that the Romans may 
have inherited the Celtic worship of the Untersberg, and 
propelled these beliefs into the Dark Ages.

At the time when Virgil was sent to Salzburg to Christianize 
the Pagans, he may have used the Untersberg as the focus for
modifiying the religious beliefs of those in this area. Virgil 
was from the Celtic Christian church in Ireland, and he brought 
with him the Irish myths of little people and fairies that 
lived under the ground. He was also known by the name 
LGeometerL, and he is thought to have written a treatise on 
people living under the earth, which almost got him 
excommuicated by the Pope in Rome. It was standard procedure 
for all Christian missionaries to identify the primary site 
of Pagan worship, and to appropriate it with a new LChristianL 
identity. Could it be that Virgil came to Salzburg and found 
the inhabitants still looking to the Untersberg with a sense 
of awe because of previous worship by Celts and Romans? Did 
Virgil build his local teachings on the local beliefs of an 
Untersberg underworld - adding Irish myth and scholarly 
anticipation of a round Earth? 
Pagan beliefs centered at the Untersberg? Certainly, Virgil 
must have been fascinated and attracted to the mystery of an 
Untersberg underworld, especially in light of his Irish 
background and personal belief in people living Lunder the 
earthL. 

Following Questions to be answered:
1) Where was the greatest wealth and strength of the Celtic 
   empire?
2) What mountain in the alps is greater than the Untersberg 
   in terms of legend, and association with Wotan?
3) What evidence supports a Celtic association with the 
   Untersberg?