Today I’m
going to stretch your imagination to its limits. Ready for that? Warn ya – it
might cost you a lot of effort ;)
Imagine
this. Fourteenth century. Mountains, forests and a river somewhere in the
middle. It twists and turns a lot. Two nations. Hungarians and Poles. One
territory divided by the said river. What do the nations do in order to protect
their lands? YES! They build CASTLES! But not the ones in which princesses
live. No, such castles are somewhere inside their lands, much better protected.
On the borders they build defensive castles. Maybe not that big, not that
pretty, not that spectacular. They look nothing like the teutonic knights’
castles in Malbork or Kwidzyn nor like the Neuschwanstein in Germany (haven’t
seen this one yet but want to sooo much). No, not in any sense like them. But
they are well thought through and perfect for defensive purposes. Once again,
we’re talking about the fourteenth century. So loooong time ago ;)
When we
were in Pieniny, we paid a visit to both of these castles. Nowadays, they look
nothing like they must have looked in the best of their times. One of them is
totally devastated due to a huge fire around 1795 (never rebuilt after that).
That’s the Polish castle in Czorsztyn (well, both of them are Polish and have
been Polish for some time now as Poland has had no border with Hungary for a
very long time). Some claim that this castle is a bit older than the Hungarian
one in Niedzica. The views from the castle are breathtaking. Although they
totally don’t resemble the landscape of the fourteenth century, of course.
Well, first of all there is no river anymore between the castles. Now it’s an
artificial lake created to protect the surrounding lands from floods (met the
expectations during the 1997 huuuge flood in southern Poland). And there are more houses
around, less forests and more fields probably. But that’s only my guess.
Nevertheless, the castle is worth seeing. Especially if you’re staying nearby
just like we did. And it’s a really short visit anyway.
Then we
went down to the lake and got on a kind of bridge – kind of path on water that
didn’t look safe or convincing to me at all. Have you seen Shrek and that long
hanging bridge near the castle where Fiona was trapped? Well, I kinda felt
exactly like Donkey with a difference being that I wasn’t high above the earth
but on water. The bridge was moving with my every step and was definitely too
long. But! I had to pull myself together and manage to get through in order to
get to the boat and then to the second of the castles. Motivation does a lot to
a human being ;)
The second
of the castles, castle in Niedzica, or as I’ve already called it, the Hungarian
one. This castle is in a much better state than the castle in Czorsztyn. First
of all, it’s not ruins but a real castle. Small, but still. There is a roof,
walls, floors, windows, etc. There are some exhibitions inside. There is said
to be a ghost inside ;) On the way to the entrance there is even a road sign
warning everyone of the ghosts inside the castle ;) AND there is a LEGEND.
What’s a castle without a legend, right? And this legend concerns not only
Europeans but also a great civilization of the Incas, a civilization full of
mysteries that we’ll probably never solve.
So, here’s
the legend.
Long, long
time ago Sebastian Berzeviczy (grandson (?) of the first owner of the Niedzica
castle) went to South America and married an
Incan princess. Their daughter, Umina, when she grew up, married the heir of
the Tupaca Amanu family – Tupac Amanu II. They had a son called Antonio.
Somewhere on the way, an uprising against the Hispanic invaders broke out. The
Incas, who did not want to lose their treasures, divided them into three parts:
one part was drowned in the Bay of Vigo, the other part was drowned in Lake
Titicaca, while the last part was to be taken care of by Tupac
Amanu II. After the uprising, Sebastian and his family left for Venice, Europe, where
they thought they could feel safe. How mistaken they were showed the fact that
soon after their arrival Tupac was murdered by paid murderers who were to find
out (for the Hispanics) where the treasure of the Incas was. Tupac never
revealed the information. Sebastian, Umina and Antonio moved to Niedzica, where
for a part of the treasure of the Incas they were offered a shelter in the
castle. Even though they thought they were finally safe, again their past
caught them. The murderers found them. Umina died because she didn’t want to
reveal the secrets. Up to now nobody knows where the treasures were drowned and
what happened to the part of the treasure given to Tupac Amanu II. However, in
1946 under one of the stairs leading to the upper part of the castle, something
was found. A lead round box in which a cryptic knotted string known as khipu
(or quipu in the Hispanic lettering), representing the writing of the Incas,
was hidden. The message encoded in the strings, however, still remains a
mystery.
Castle in Czorsztyn
Castle in Czorsztyn as seen from the lake
View from the castle towards the lake. See the tiny boats? Weren't that tiny in reality ;)
Castle in Niedzica as seen from castle in Czorsztyn
On the way out from the castle in Czorsztyn
The big, scary "bridge"
Castle in Czorsztyn as seen from the boat
Castle in Niedzica
Most of the information in the castle was given both in Polish and in English
No comments:
Post a Comment