Queen Jurata of the Baltic Sea - Polish Folklore

Northern Poland borders with the Baltic Sea. On its water stretches a sand bar peninsula extending from the mainland, half closing the Bay of Gdansk. It is called Hel Peninsula. Before the popular sea side resorts were built there, in the area of Jurata, it was known for something else.

A very long time ago, before the Baltic area was covered with water, there once stood a dense forest with conifer trees. Those beautiful trees produced from its resin the most magnificent gemstone called amber. After the water covered the Baltic area, creating the Baltic Sea, the amber got hidden at the bottom of the seafloor. With time, the waves would push the amber out of its seafloor to the ashore. Once discovered, many merchants had travelled the Amber Road to reach the northern Bay of Gdansk for this special product. This is a fact, but there is also a legend.

Once upon a time, in the deep waters of Baltic Sea stood the most spectacular castle made of amber. Its walls and floors of golden brown color glistened in the blue waters. Here and there the glistening walls displayed a mosaic of fossilized beetle, dragonfly or butterfly; trapped thousands of years ago in the resin of the trees.

A garden of the greenest seagrass surrounded the castle. Among many animals, the fish, seals, mussels, jellyfish and snails lived in the waters of Baltic ruled by the Queen Jurata. She was of great beauty with long golden-red hair, blue eyes, dressed in turquoise gowns decorated with pearls. But above all she was a smart and just Queen, solving all disagreements among the animals. Thus known as fair, she was loved by them all.

One day, the tiniest snail heard from a big fish that a young fisherman was throwing fishnets into the water. The Queen upon hearing this said, “This cannot be. I will not let even one fish to be trapped!” Her furry sent the waves crashing hard against the shore. The fishnets tore against the rocks releasing trapped fish. “I said not even one fish!” echoed Jurata’s voice.

The Queen called for her fairies, “The next time a fishnet is thrown into the water, we will meet our fisherman and enchant him with our voices. We will trap him into our underworld from which he will never throw another fishnet.”

It wasn’t long, when the fisherman threw the nets the following day. The Queen and the fairies rushed above the waters. With their bodies floating on the waves, they sang with the most enchanting voices.

The fisherman checking his nets, raised his head and saw the most beautiful mermaids. As he smiled towards them, something has occurred, something which Jurata was not expecting. She had a change of heart. Her anger melted. She couldn’t take her eyes off the fisherman. “Oh, no,” gasped one of the fairies seeing what was happening.

The Queen lowered her hand, quieting down the fairies. She faced the young man and said, “You broke the peace of the underworld. So I came to punish you, but I no longer can carry my own demand.”

“Don’t worry. I will stop throwing the nets and will wait for you here every night,” responded the fisherman.

“So will I,” promised Jurata.

And they did. Jurata would meet the young man at the shore each night. Sitting on a boat for long hours, each night they watched the sunset and listened to the sea waves brushing against the sand.

Their happiness didn’t last long. Jurata’s father, the god of thunder, was very unhappy with her being with a human being. After one night, soon after Jurata left the boat and closed the door of her castle. Her father, Perkun, sent a thunder of thunders. The beautiful amber castle broke into thousands of pieces, covering the Queen with a pile of amber, never to be seen again. At the same time, the thunder sent the boat crashing hard against the rocks and the young man descending down to the bottom of the Baltic Sea, never to be seen again.

As a result, every time a storm ravages the Baltic waters, the thundering waves throw the pieces of amber on the seashore until today.


Note: Another version of the Queen of the Baltic – April post 2014.