Castles Legends

Castles in Poland

This e-book was created as part of the Castles.today project that seeks to promote history and tourism by presenting high-quality content related to castles and forts scattered around the globe. We offer you a brief escape from the daily routine, allowing you to travel back in time to the era of princesses and knights strolling through chambers and castle walls.

Copyright © Castles Michał Nowakowski

Written by Kinga Kijewska

Illustrated by Agata Krzyżewska

Translation by Joanna Zahorska

Typesetting by Smart DTP

Project coordinator: Michał Nowakowski

Edition: e-Book 2021

ISBN: 978-83-957893-5-9

More legends you can find at: www.castles.today or in the app Castles.today

When I look at old walls of medieval strongholds, I see more than just bricks. I see history, I see the life of people of that era. I see their joy and sorrow. I feel a piece of that long-gone world forever echoing in the castle stones. Part of history remains somewhere there, deep inside, waiting for those willing to rediscover it.

This book will take you on a journey to the past times – the middle ages, the renaissance, and, in some cases, also to events of the recent past. Nonetheless, all these stories share one thing – an aura of mystery. Dragons, spirits, hidden treasures… It all relentlessly inspires fantasies in any enthusiast of these majestic buildings. Let yourself be taken away to the world where magic and sorcery become one with reality; to places we all perfectly know that are shown here from a different, extraordinary point of view.

It is my great desire for you to see something more than brick walls in these places when reading this collection of legends. I would like you to see the world that I can see even when staring at nothing but ruins. To stop for a moment and try see it differently than before. To notice that which is dormant and to discover that which is not visible to the naked eye. I invite you to step into my world – a world of legends and fairy tales related to castles that can be found in Poland.

Castle Legends

Legends of Lipowiec Castle in Babice

Legends of Besiekiery Castle

The Legend of Bezławki Castle

The Legend of Będzin Castle

The Legend of Bierutów Castle

The Legend of the castles in Bobolice and Mirów

The Legend of Bolków Castle

The Legend of Chęciny Castle

Legends of the Castle of the Masovian Dukes in Ciechanów

Legends of the Castle of the Masovian Dukes in Czersk

Legends of the Castle in Golub-Dobrzyń

Legends of Grodziec Castle

The Legend of the Castle of the Bishops of Kraków in Iłża

The Legend of Janowiec Castle

Legends of Chojnik Castle in Jelenia Góra-Sobieszów

The Legend of Kazimierz Dolny Castle

The Legend of Kliczków Castle

The Legend of Kórnik Castle

Legends of the Wawel Royal Castle, Kraków

The Legend of Kruszwica Castle

The Legend of Lesko Castle

The Legend of the Castle in Lidzbark Warmiński

The Legends of Liw Castle

Legends of Łęczyca Castle

Legends of Malbork Castle

The Legend of Sobień Castle in Manasterzec Village

The Legend of Nidzica Castle

Legends of Kamieniec Castle in Odrzykoń

Legends of the Castle in Olsztyn near Częstochowa

The Legend of Oporów Castle

Legends of Ogrodzieniec Castle

Legends of Gryf Castle in Proszówka

The Legend of the Castle of Masovian Dukes in Rawa Mazowiecka

Legends of Castle Tenczyn in Rudno

The Legend of Ryn Castle

The Legend of Pilcza Castle in Smoleń

The Legend of Sobków Castle

Legends of Czocha Castle in Sucha

Legends of Pieskowa Skała Castle in Sułoszowa

The Legend of the Górka Family Castle in Szamotuły

The Legend of the Pomeranian Dukes’ Castle in Szczecin

Legends of Krzyżtopór Castle in Ujazd

Legends of the Castle of Gniezno Archbishops in Uniejów

Legends of Książ Castle in Wałbrzych

Legends of the Royal Castle in Warsaw

Legends of Ostrogski Castle in Warsaw

The Legend of Lenno Castle in Wleń

Legends of Grodno Castle in Zagórze Śląskie

Legends of Lipowiec Castle in Babice

On the ghostly carriage and the spirits of past convicts

Long, long time ago, in the distant medieval era, Lipowiec Castle served for many years as a prison for bishops. It housed numerous wretched souls who dared to oppose the power of the Catholic Church.

And at that time, the Church unquestionably showed no mercy for its opponents. Oftentimes, the fate convicts faced there was cruel. Executioners would use various forms of torture, prisoners were incarcerated in cells and put merely on a diet of bread and water, and sometimes sentenced to death by starvation... Though these atrocities have been discontinued for many centuries now, their impact on the castle walls is permanent. To this day, the premises are haunted by spirits of past convicts. On full moon, one can often hear odd moans and cries coming from the castle dungeons. It is said that around midnight, on some occasions, a violent wind suddenly rises... Even on a warm summer night, the air is said to turn ice-cold at those moments… In the outer ward, a shadow of a black carriage appears.

The carriage is drawn by six pairs of black horses. Then, a bishop clad in purple emerges from the carriage, slowly enters the castle yard. Behind him, guards are dragging a convict. Then, a headsman rises a sword and a thunder strikes, the earth crumbles and caves in, and the spirits disappear… This scene takes place again and again, with nothing suggesting that these ghosts will soon find solace...

The Legend of the White Lady

Like many other castles, Lipowiec Castle has its White Lady. Where does the name of the castle come from? This is revealed in a beautiful romantic legend that probably holds quite a large grain of truth… Francesco Stancaro was supposedly the best-known prisoner held in Lipowiec Castle. It is said that he was the only one who managed to escape the prison in Babice. This Italian man born in Mantua co-authored the so-called Brest Bible. This alone made him a great adversary of the Church. And the fact that he planned to carry out reformation in Poland only added to his fame of an exceptionally dangerous man. The Church was not fond of those who had the courage to oppose it and its dignitaries. For his views, Stancaro was imprisoned in the cells of Lipowiec Castle. And it was there that an unusual story took place. According to the legend, he captured the heart of the castle guard’s daughter. The young girl would do anything to be with her beloved, so she prepared an escape plan. Since due to her father’s position she could enjoy many privileges, each day she would bring sheets to the convict’s cell. The latter would then tie the sheets together to form a long durable rope. On one dark moonless night, once the rope was long enough, the young lad slid down the sheets from the castle tower and escaped. His beloved was supposed to join him on the following day. When she was packing essentials intended to help the young couple being a new life, her father entered her chamber, infuriated. The whole intrigue came to light.

The girl was to be guarded, prohibited from leaving the castle. Francesco could not return to help her, as that would mean his re-imprisonment with no chance for rescue. The girl cried and begged her father to allow her to join her beloved one, but the man remained unbent. She did not want to live without her love any longer. She put on a wedding gown and climbed the castle tower. She jumped off and fell onto the roof of the keep. Since then, her ghost has been roaming the ruins of Lipowiec Castle. It is said that she is looking for her beloved who will return and save her.

Legends of Besiekiery Castle

The Legend of The White Lady

The first legend of Besiekiery Castle is truly unique. Why is that so? Well, the ghost that can be seen there is in fact roaming from one castle to another. This ghost is said to reside permanently in a nearby village called Borysławice Zamkowe. However, the spectre has been repeatedly sighted also in the vicinity of ruins in Besiekiery. Why is the White Lady indecisive as to which stronghold she should settle in? The answer to this question can be found in a legend...

The spectre of Besiekiery is said to be the ghost of the Szczawiński family’s daughter – one of the former owners of these lands. Their property also included the nearby castle in Borysławice Zamkowe. What has gained this unfortunate soul the suffering of eternal damnation? The girl used to live in the castle in Besiekiery. Her parents were influential people and, as was common in that time, they found her the right candidate to be wed to. However, the maiden was not eager to enter into an arranged marriage. She was in love with someone else and it was him she wanted to wed. Since the boy were neither of a social class nor wealth that would suit those of the girl, it was a lost cause. According to the legend, to keep the maiden apart from her beloved one, the Szczawiński family put her in their other stronghold in Borysławice Zamkowe. There she was expected to await her wedding with the fiancé chosen by her parents. Struck by grief, the girl refused to accept the fate her relatives envisaged for her. To escape the unwanted marriage, she hence tried to flee down the gate tower where she was locked. This attempt ended tragically. The girl fell to her death. Since then, the spectre has been roaming from one castle to the other in search for her lover. It is said that on moonlit nights she can be sighted in a window of the tower overlooking Besiekiery Castle ruins.

The Legend of the Devil and an Axe

Another legend related to the castle is the story of a devil named Boruta (the very same who is a permanent resident of the nearby Łęczyca).

As the legend has it, the keep in Besiekiery was erected by a knight who made a wager with the devil that he will do so without using the axe. Had he succeeded, Boruta would gift him with the greatest treasures of this world. The knight ensured that the forbidden tool was not used by any of the workers he employed at the castle construction site. Finally, the stronghold was completed. They have made it! Overjoyed, the knight wanted to settle the bet with the devil. Nonetheless, the devil would not be himself if he had not deceived the man… As it turned out, a peasant who would bring stones required for the construction work was called Siekierka [a name that stems from the Polish word siekiera, which means an ‘axe’ – Translator’s note]. Therefore, the knight lost the bet. He had to pay Boruta with his soul and also the castle. This event is said to be the origin of the name of the village Besiekiery (as in bez siekiery, which means ‘without an axe’ in Polish).