What happened
Grodno Castle, on Choina hill above Lake Bystrzyckie, has gathered many legends – of a treacherous servant, of a well dug by a Turkish prisoner and of a White Lady. The most famous concerns Margaret, known as the Black Châtelaine. In the 15th century her father supposedly forced her to marry a rich older man whom she hated. During a morning walk along the walls she pushed him into the abyss. Her father saw it from a window and punished his daughter with death by starvation – he had her walled up in the dungeon. According to the legend, a skeleton was found in that very spot in the 20th century. Today visitors see a skeleton chained to a wall, and guides say the châtelaine's ghost has never found peace. The castle holds a medieval fair in her honour.
Witnesses
Castle guides and tourists; the legends were collected by Marek Dudziak in his book “Zamek Grodno – dzieje, tajemnice, legendy” (2017).
Explanations and hypotheses
No documents confirm Margaret's story – it is a typical castle tale of punishment for disobedience and crime. The skeleton on display is a prop illustrating the legend rather than evidence. The castle's director, Zbigniew Wojcieszek, told “Rzeczpospolita” that there are no ghosts here, though guides like to talk about them. The authors of archaeological research carried out here in 2017–2019 note that the castle's turbulent past has attracted legend-writers since the 19th century, while scientific research there has been limited.
Legend A story handed down through generations – it can be neither confirmed nor disproved.
Sources
- ZamkoMania – Zamek Grodno (Zagórze Śląskie)
- Wojciech Wybranowski, Nasze zjawy lepsze od Halloween („Rzeczpospolita”, 2012)
- Zamek Grodno – Zwiedzanie (oficjalna strona)
More: Wikipedia (pl) Wikipedia (en)