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the legend of Olt, brother of Mureş
Over time, people have tried to explain the genesis of the Olt River, which has led to the emergence of many legends. The best known and most common legend about the Olt River is the one in which it is mentioned along with another great river of the country, Mureş. the story tries to get closer to reality by the way the Olt was and is still seen as a tumultuous river and difficult to „tame”.
Thus, according to the legend that is told especially in rural areas, but not only, Olt would have been the son of a king from the Eastern Carpathians. he would have had a brother in the person of „Mureş” and, although they looked like two drops of water, the two were extremely different. Thus, while Mureş was silent, reserved and closed in on himself, Olt was ambitious, proud and always on the map. for this reason, the two quarreled and fought on every occasion. Over the years, the quarrels and childish quarrels between the two brothers intensified and became more and more violent. not least, the brothers fought among themselves until they could no longer rise from the ground or were full of blood. To appease them, the king ordered two towers to be built on a mountain near the city – for each of his sons. when they grew up and were just getting married, the king had to go to battle with one of the enemies who had come dangerously close to the borders of the kingdom. Only the king did not return from the expedition, nor did any of those who had left with him. The queen, worried about her husband’s fate and believing that he had been taken prisoner, turned to the two sons, whom she asked to go and look for the king. the queen had hoped that this journey would be the starting point for reconciliation between the two sons, especially since they had promised to stay apart for the duration of the expedition, but she was wrong.
Songs about the Olt River
Although, at the beginning of the journey, the two princes understood the purpose of the journey and vowed to put aside all quarrels between them in order to find their missing father, the „peace” lasted only a few hours. the reason for the resumption of the quarrel between Olt and Mureş was that they did not agree on the direction in which to look for their father. Thus, while Olt wanted to start the search to the south, Mureş wanted to head to the north. it was only a step from the adversarial discussion to the fight, so the two started fighting again before being separated from their father in the two towers. At one point, the two brothers got tired and decided to break up: Olt said he would head south, and Mureş headed north. And they parted: the dark Mureş by nature started it to the north, and the fast Olt by nature rushed bubbling to the south. after a while, however, Mureş lost sight of his brother and decided to return from the road to look for his brother and then, together, to go after their father. However, he could not find his brother, although he went exactly on the road he had parted with Olt. upset, he wandered off and lost his mind after a while, but did not hesitate to look for his brother.
Meanwhile, the queen finds out by chance that the two boys have separated. with tears in her eyes, it is said that the queen asked God to guide the steps of her sons so that they would find themselves at some point. And God, moved by the tears and prayers of the mother of the two brothers, would have fulfilled his wish: he decided to turn them into immortal rivers. and rivers would have remained until today, keeping their name: Olt and Mureş.the legend tries to have an “anchor” in reality by the fact that, while the Mureş is seen as a calm river, flowing smoothly towards the plain, good and with the hope that, after many turns, it will find its twin brother, Oltul cel fast and fussy, he crashes into the rocks of the mountainsit stirs tumultuously, foams, and bleeds at the Red Tower.and people even wrote songs about the legend: „Mureş, Mureş, smooth water, / Pass me to a foreign land / And be part of my hodina”. And about the river Olt it is sung thus: „Oltule, cursed river, / You have become deep and wide, / That you come big, frothy, / And with mixed blood”.