What happened
A maze of cellars stretches beneath Sandomierz's Old Town, part of which has been linked into the Underground Tourist Route – about 470 metres long, with its deepest point 12 metres below the street. The tunnels are tied to the legend of Halina, daughter of the townsman Piotr Krępa. When the Tatars besieged the town at the end of 1259, the girl supposedly pretended to be a traitor and promised to lead them into the town through secret passages. She led them deep into the underground maze, and the townspeople sealed the exits. The Tatars perished, and Halina was buried alive with them. Guides say the groans of the dying invaders can still be heard in the cellars, and the brave girl's ghost sometimes slips through the corridors among the visitors. At the start of the route, a multimedia “Chamber of Legends” tells her story.
Witnesses
Guides and tourists on the Underground Tourist Route; the legend is described by Radio Kielce and Sandomierz tourism materials.
Explanations and hypotheses
The attack on Sandomierz at the turn of 1259 and 1260 is historical fact, but the story of Halina Krępianka is a legend unknown from medieval sources. Moreover, the cellars were most likely dug only from the 14th century on, as merchants' storerooms – that is, after the events described. In the 20th century the extensive tunnels threatened to bring down the houses above; the tourist route opened after they were stabilised. Today it receives about 200,000 visitors a year.
Legend A story handed down through generations – it can be neither confirmed nor disproved.
Sources
More: Wikipedia (pl)