What happened
Czocha is said to be one of the most haunted castles in Poland. Its most famous legend concerns a well in the courtyard: the lords of the castle supposedly threw unfaithful wives and their lovers into it. In the best-known version, one of the Nostitz family, called Joachim in the tales, came back from war to find his wife pregnant. Convinced the child was not his, he had the baby walled up in a fireplace and his wife thrown into the well. Visitors speak of a child crying and calls for help heard at night. The castle also has a White Lady – Gertrude, the sister of a former owner, who according to legend let the Hussites into the fortress for a purse of gold (the year most often given is 1431). When the castle was retaken she was beheaded, and since neither the devil nor the lord of the underworld would accept her soul, she still wanders the walls. Tourists are also shown a bed with a trapdoor through which unwanted guests supposedly fell into the dungeon.
Witnesses
Guides, guests of the castle hotel and participants of night tours; the legends are described on the castle's official website.
Explanations and hypotheses
None of these stories is confirmed by documents – the castle itself presents them as legends. Czocha's present appearance largely dates from a rebuilding carried out in 1912–1920 by Bodo Ebhardt for the manufacturer Ernst Gütschow, which casts doubt on the “medieval” trapdoors and secret passages. Its dark reputation has been boosted by the films shot there and an unconfirmed story about a wartime Abwehr cipher school. Today the castle runs a hotel, and night tours with ghosts are a permanent part of its offer.
Legend A story handed down through generations – it can be neither confirmed nor disproved.
Sources
- Zamek Czocha – Nocne zwiedzanie Zamku Czocha (oficjalna strona)
- Zamek Czocha – Dzienne zwiedzanie Zamku Czocha (oficjalna strona)
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