In Poland, we have a lot of places with dark legends. One of them is the Dunajec Castle in Niedzica - a medieval stronghold located on the right bank of the Czorsztyn Reservoir. What is the history of the castle? Why is the place said to be haunted? Check who lives in the walls of the Niedzica castle and see who to expect after dark.
The Dunajec Castle, which is located on the Czorsztyn Reservoir in the village of Niedzica-Zamek, was probably built around the 14th century. Previously, a defensive structure stood there, but a certain Kokosz Berzevicz transformed it into a beautiful, huge castle. According to historical records, the name of the castle "Dunajec" was used for the first time in 1325. Interestingly, the castle was once a Hungarian watchtower on the border with Poland.
The Dunajec River was passed from hand to hand for several hundred years. The owners of the castle were, among others the descendants of Rudiger from Tyrol, Emeryk Zapolya, Hieronim Łaski, and his son Albrecht, as well as Jerzy Horvath - to whom Olbracht sold the castle. Jerzy rebuilt the Dunajec and turned it into a truly Renaissance building, most of which is preserved to this day in this style. The castle was later leased by the Italian-Hungarian, pious Giovanelli family, who, however, did not care for the property as much as its previous owner. The Giovenellichs preferred to spend money on sacred buildings. When the Dunajec was close to destruction, the castle went to Andrzej Horvath, who rebuilt the castle and made Dunajec famous throughout Hungary. Later, the medieval building was taken over by the Salamons.
After World War I, the castle was already on the territory of Poland, but it was still the property of the Salamons. The last owner of the Dunajec was a countess Ilona Bethel Salamon, who left the castle in 1943. Then the entire castle was partially rebuilt and restored. Some parts of the Dunajec River have been made available to visitors, and in others, a creative workhouse of the Association of Art Historians has been created. Interestingly, after World War II, an Inca kipie was found in the castle, i.e. a certain type of information written in knotted letters. It probably contains information about the ... treasure hidden in the castle.
The castle in Niedzica is visited by a lot of tourists every year. However, not everyone knows that the medieval building is haunted. A curse was thrown at the castle long ago, which sometimes makes itself felt - especially after dark. It is said that there is a small crevice in the rock on which the Dunajec was built. It allegedly widens from year to year, which is to lead to the collapse of the castle. Who is responsible for the curse on the Dunajec River? A bad landlord who once ruled a castle.
At a time when the Tatars invaded the Pieniny Mountains, people tried to hide from them somewhere. One of the perfect hiding places was the castle in Niedzica. The unknown owner of the Dunajec, who reportedly ruled it for a very short time, was not in favor of hiding refugees in his estate. First, he was afraid of the Asian hordes that would destroy his possessions. Second, he didn't like strangers. One day a group of nuns from Stary Sącz came to the vicinity of the castle. One of them did not have the strength to wander for many hours. She crouched for a moment in the forest, losing sight of her companions after a while. The nuns went on and she stayed. The young nun was looking for a long way back from the great forest until she noticed the Dunajec Castle in the distance. The woman approached the building, hoping that someone would help her or stay overnight. She was desperately banging the knocker on the coarse door, begging someone to let her in. However, the ruler of the Niedzica castle was busy feasting with his friends. So he ordered the guards to chase the lost nun away.
There was a storm at night, one of the strongest in several decades. The nun's voice could be heard amidst the crackling of lightning and the ominous gusts of wind. It sounded as if someone were cursing ominously. Indeed, it was so. The nun, who was not allowed into the courtyard by the Niedzicki lord, cursed the lock. It proclaimed that the rock on which the Dunajec was erected would break soon. The Dunajec, standing on it, will fall down, taking all the people there with it. The next day, the inhabitants of the Niedzica stronghold noticed that a huge scratch had formed on the rock that no one had ever seen before. It is from that day that this depression supposedly grows bigger every year. Will it ever devour the castle with its beautiful towers and walls? Perhaps we will never find out.
Yet another legend has it that one day a mysterious Inca testament was found in the Niedzica castle. At the end of the 18th century, the Inca (descendants of Tupac Amaru) resided in the castle and in its vicinity and were adopted by the then-owner of the castle, Sebastian of the Berzevicz family. Part of the aristocracy who lived with the Incas hid in a stronghold (probably from the Spanish persecution). They allegedly hid in the Dunajec part of the treasure, which was intended to finance the uprising against Spain.
The owner of the castle took a Peruvian princess, one of the Tupac Amaru family, for his wife. The couple had a beautiful little daughter, Umina, who was stabbed to death in the castle several decades later for unclear reasons. Since then, her spirit has been wandering around the fortress in Niedzica, guarding the treasure hidden by the Incas. Is there any grain of truth in this story? Maybe. In front of the entrance to the castle, there is a sign warning against the ghost of Umina - the White Lady: "Attention, Ghosts". Some reportedly saw her strolling around the castle courtyard and walls in the evening, wearing a flowing white dress.
The castle in Niedzica hides many more secrets. One of the popular legends says that a certain Brunhild and Bolesław lived in the castle. The marriage, however, did not have a good reputation. The husband was arguing loudly with his wife all the time. Their quarrels were so frequent and noisy that other inhabitants of the castle decided to move the couple to a separate tower. Unfortunately, separating them did not help at all. One day, Bolesław, enraged by his wife's behavior, unexpectedly pushed Brunhilda out the window. At the bottom, there was a well into which a woman fell. Brunhild drowned in it, and only then did Bolesław realize that he had made the biggest mistake in his life.
The frightened man ran from the tower straight to the well. He leaned over to her but was unable to see his wife. He sobbed and begged Brunhild to forgive him. Every day he would come to the well, lean over it and cry out, "Forgive me, Brunhilda!" One afternoon, a man heard a voice from the well: "I forgive you, Bolesław the Bald!". The man was famous for having thick, thick hair. At first, Bolesław did not understand the words he heard from the well. When he woke up the next morning it turned out that his hair suddenly… had disappeared. According to the legend from Niedzica, every man who has something on his conscience and who says the name of his beloved at the well, will wake up the next day without hair on his head.
Bibliography:
L. Kajzer, J. Salm, S. Kołodziejski: Lexicon of castles in Poland, Arkady Publishing House, Warsaw 2001
Kidger Rebecca E .: Ghosts. Stories about haunted places and people, Rea Publishing House, Konstancin-Jeziorna 2012
Robert David Chase: The Visitation. True Stories, Replika Publishing House, Poznań 2019
Gospodarek Mikołaj: Bucket list Poland. 365 non-obvious places, Pascal Publishing House, Warsaw 2021
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