Triglav, also Triglaw and Triglaff, was a powerful Slavic god with three heads. He ruled over heaven, earth and the underworld. He was the master of battles and sea storms. His heads were usually depicted horizontally, and each pair of eyes looked in a different direction.

Triglav rode a black horse and appeared as an oak tree. The Slavs therefore worshipped numerous oak trees.

Before the Slavs went to war, a black horse was saddled with a golden or, if necessary, a silver saddle. 9 spears were laid on the ground. The chief priest then led the horse over the spears three times. If the horse did not touch a spear, this was considered a good omen.

Triglav was particularly worshipped among the West Slavs (the present-day territory of Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Prussia, Germany, Brandenburg, Sorbs). Numerous temples and statues were built in his honor. The temples were black and richly decorated with images from nature. The statues were very robustly built and had three heads. The Triglav cult was destroyed by Christianization. However, the statues or heads were taken over by the Christians and survived until the 16th century. One example is the Tüllner handgun.

The Triglav mountain is the only mountain in Slovenia that was named after a Slavic god. Triglav mountain is the highest Slovenian mountain and has three peaks. However, experts tend to believe that the mountain was not named after the Slavic god, but after three peaks. The same is said to be true for the Triglav massif in Bulgaria.

Source

Ingo Petri, Eine figürliche verzierte Tüllenhandbuchse als Triglav Darstellung aus dem spätem Mittelalter, Religion und Gesellschaft im nördlichen westslawischen Raum, 2017.

Mihai Dragnea, Some Considerations Regarding the Slavic God Triglav, Analele Universităţii Ovidius Constant, Vol.8 (2011).

Silar, Zbruch Idol, Kraków Archaeological Museum, Wikipedia, Zbruch Idol – Wikipedia, 19. 7. 2024.