Edited by ARR S.A. | Silesia
The legend of Rai and Knai
Country: Poland
Region: Silesia
Type of inspiration: Legends
Inspiracja
"On a small hill, where now stands the historic palace of the Kotulinskis family in Czechowice Górne, a very long time ago there was a wooden castle of a prince who came from no one knows where. Lower down stretched moors, marshes and lakes, on which two castles were built: Paradise and Knaj.
The people here were wealthy, but the more money they had the more hateful they became. So they began to take an ominous view of the prince and his beautiful wife who had arrived at the castle, as misfortune had begun to haunt the settlements since their arrival. The inhabitants thought that the sorcerer living in the castle was responsible for everything. The enraged mob captured the prince, who was tied to a stake and burnt, and his wife was thrown into a dungeon. She still only had time to utter the curse in a voice full of suffering, so that the settlements were swallowed up by the earth. At that moment, the wind blew and all the houses fell down, and the ground cracked and caved in where Paradise and Knai had stood.
For many years, the groans and mournful cries of the people could be heard coming from under the ground in the area now known as Podraj. The penance of the inhabitants of Paradise and Knai lasted a thousand years and would continue until a daredevil was found who would find the keys to the gates of both cities.
Once upon a time a villager was resting beside one of the wells in Podraj. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he did not notice a beautiful woman leaning over him and saying:
- I am the Duchess of the nearby castle. There is a curse on the land where you work for the harm done to me. The wicked inhabitants of Paradise and Knau have been imprisoned beneath the earth. Since the penance has been fulfilled please deliver us. If you do so you will receive a reward and become the richest man. I will return to you with a bundle of keys, and when you take them in your hand you will lift the curse. However, I will come in another form so be brave and bold.
After these words she disappeared. It was not long before a terrifying spectre stood before him in the same place, holding a bunch of keys in its teeth. The villager threw himself into flight, followed by the phantom. As he fled, he heard the keys falling behind him several times and begged him to pick them up. Unfortunately, the peasant lacked courage and the phantom, helpless, jumped into the well along with the keys.
Since then, it has never appeared again, and the villager regretted to the end of his days that he did not have enough courage and did not save the penitent people.
Rumour has it that on every anniversary of the disappearance of Raju and Knau, this bundle of keys can be seen in one of the sub-rail wells. If someone managed to get them out of there, they could free the cursed townsfolk and become the possessor of the treasures that the earth has swallowed up."
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Poland
Silesia
