What happened
For centuries Chęciny Castle was a residence of queens and a state prison. Among those who lived here was Bona Sforza, wife of King Sigismund the Old. Legend says the queen hid her treasures in the castle, and when she left Poland in 1556 she carried them off to Italy on twelve wagons. The bridge over the Nida could not bear the weight of the riches and collapsed, and the treasure sank. Ever since, a misty figure in a long white dress has roamed the walls at night – the White Lady, seen as the ghost of Bona searching for the valuables left in the fortress. A mysterious light is also said to flash from the tower at times – a signal sent by the ghost of Kmitówna, a voivode's daughter, to her lover. Chęciny is the most famous place where Bona “appears”, although she also features in the legends of other castles.
Witnesses
Local residents and tourists; the legends are retold by Radio Kielce and guidebooks to the castles of the Świętokrzyskie region.
Explanations and hypotheses
Bona really did leave for Bari in 1556 with an enormous fortune, and the loan she made to Philip II – the so-called Neapolitan sums – was never repaid to Poland. The tale of the treasure in the Nida is a folk echo of that departure. The castle declined from the 16th century on: it was damaged in 1607 during the Zebrzydowski rebellion, in 1655–1657 by the Swedes and Rákóczi's troops, and its last residents left in 1707. Today the restored ruins are a tourist attraction with views of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains.
Legend A story handed down through generations – it can be neither confirmed nor disproved.
Sources
More: Wikipedia (pl) Wikipedia (en)