Devil's Court of Lublin Castle, Polish Legend

Lublin, Poland, was recently a candidate for the title of “2016 European Capital of Culture.”

The Lublin Castle stands adjacent to the Old Town. It is one of the oldest preserved Royal residencies in Poland, established by High Duke Casimir II the Just. The hill on which it is located was first fortified with a wood-reinforced earthen wall in the 12^th century. In the 14^th century, during the reign of Casimir the Great, the castle was rebuilt with stone walls. The wall paintings at the castle’s Holy Trinity church, due to their unique style, mixing Western and Eastern Orthodox influences, are acclaimed internationally as an important historical monument.

The castle also holds a legend.

Long ago, a poor Lublin widow became embroiled in a dispute with a wealthy, corrupt nobleman. The greedy nobleman sought to take away all her possessions. The widow took the case to the court several times and each time, the bribed judges ruled against her. Distraught by the injustice, after yet another unsuccessful trial, the widow cried that even the devil would have given a just verdict! That same night, an ornate carriage pulled up to the steps of the castle where the Court sat. Out came several very tall, robed and hooded figures, which entered the courtroom and conducted the Devils’ Trial. The devils’ verdict forced the nobleman to not only return everything he had taken from the widow, but to also pay large sums of money to her in reparations. To make its point clear, one of the devils slammed his skeletal hand onto the court table, burning its imprint into the wood surface, which can still be seen today.

Mr. Twardowski, Polish Legend

The Cloth Hall in Krakow, Poland, is one of the city’s most recognizable icons. It is the central feature of the main market square in the Old Town and UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1978. It was once a major center of international trade. Traveling merchants met there to discuss business and to barter. This brings us to a legend of one of the nobleman from the city.

Mr. Twardowski was a nobleman from Krakow who sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for magical powers and vast knowledge. Twardowski made sure to add that the only condition under which the Devil may claim his soul was when Twardowski set foot in Rome, which the nobleman had no intention of doing. Henceforth, Twardwoski gained fame as a powerful sorcerer, even becoming one of King Sigismund Augustus’ favored subjects after conjuring the spirit of the grieving ruler’s deceased wife. Twardowski continued to perform his magic for many years until the Devil lured him to an inn, supposedly to save a dying man. As soon as he stepped inside, the Devil grabbed hold of him and said the inn was called Rome. As Twardowski was being carried away, he prayed to the Virgin Mary for mercy; the Devil dropped him onto the Moon, where he remains to this day.

                                         The Cloth Hall

 

Raven King, Polish Legend

The city of Poznan located in western Poland is proud of its Town Hall decorating the Old Town. The Town Hall has a long tradition of a trumpeter call, which is connected with a legend.

Long ago, there lived a boy in Poznan named Bolko, whose father was a city guard. One day, Bolko happened upon an injured raven. He took the bird home, fixed its broken wing and nursed it back to health.

One night, he noticed a gnome sitting on the stool where the raven’s cage had been. The gnome thanked the boy for saving his life, saying he was the Raven King. In gratitude, he gave Bolko a silver trumpet with which he could call him whenever he was in dire need of help. With that, the gnome turned back into a raven and flew away.

Years went by, and one night a foreign army laid siege to Poznan. Bolko, now himself a city guard, remembered the Raven King’s gift. He blew the trumpet and suddenly flocks of ravens befell the city, pecking and clawing at the invading army until it retreated in defeat. To commemorate this event, city guards play the same trumpet signal with which Bolko once called the ravens.

The Queen of the Baltic, Polish Legend

Gdansk is a Polish port city 4 miles from the Baltic Sea. It lies on the Vistula River. In the 10th century, when Poland was firmly establishing its prominence on the Baltic shores, Gdansk became a defense stronghold. The harbor was ideally located. It was connected with the trade route called the "Amber Road", which was used by the merchants from the Mediterranean countries seeking amber from the Baltic shores and this leads us to a legend from the Baltic shores.

Long, long ago, the Baltic Sea was ruled by Jurata, a beautiful queen. She had long golden hair and sea green eyes. Her loveliness caused Perkun, the fierce God of thunder and lightning, to fall in love with her. He would not let his storms disturb the waters of her kingdom.

Jurata was a kind queen. She established laws to protect her sea creatures. One law did not allow anyone to set traps that caught too many fish at one time. Though Jurata liked to eat flounder and had it served at the palace, she ordered her servants to keep only half of each fish and to throw the other half back to the sea. These fish-halves stayed alive because of her magical powers.

On the Baltic Coast lived a bold, free spirited young fisherman who had very little common sense. He knew about Queen Jurata's law, but disobeyed it. He set many traps and caught many, many fish which he sold to people who lived far from the sea. He spent most of his money on fine clothes.

The Queen found out about this fisherman and was very angry with him. Her plan was to swim close to the shore, get the fisherman to go in the water and drown him. Instead, when she saw him in his beautiful clothes, she fell in love with him as he did with her. Every night she would swim to the shore and see her new sweetheart.

Jurata herself had broken a law. The gods said that magical beings could love only magical beings. Perkun got very very mad about this. He went into a rage and with thunderbolts destroyed the amber colored palace while the Queen was inside and chained the young fisherman to the bottom of the sea. They were never seen again. The fisherman can sometimes be heard calling for his love. The only things that remain from Jurata's palace are pieces of amber that sometimes wash up on the beaches of the Baltic Sea.

 

Note: Another version of the Queen Jurata – March post 2015.

Source: http://info-poland.buffalo.edu/classroom/legends/QB.html