See on map In the footsteps of Warmian and Masurian legends
Warmia and Masuria is a region with numerous stories, legends and fairy tales originating from folk beliefs. They are relics of the past, an element of folklore, cultural heritage, as well as a testimony to spiritual culture, a reflection of views and an image of the social life of these lands in the old days. Let’s get to know two of the Masurian legends.
How Masuria was created
Legend has it that God, after creating the Earth, while resting after hard work, discovered a deep hole. He wanted to fill the hollow and that’s why he carried stones and mountain rocks from all over the globe with his hands, heaping up the hills. He moved sand and clay from the lowlands, from which he formed the soil.
With his hands he brought water from the seas and oceans and poured it into the hollows from which lakes were formed. He divided the backwoods into many forests, and from numerous swamps on the ground he moved deposits of iron ore and peat. In this way, today’s Masuria was created from the “hole”.
The King of Vendace – Mikołajki
Whoever was in Mikołajki probably saw a green fish with a golden crown under the bridge. This is the King of Vendace, the ruler of Masurian lakes.
Long ago, the waters of the Masurian lakes were ruled by a large fish – the largest of all water creatures. When the settlers fished out huge amounts of fish from the lakes, the gods summoned the King of Vendace and ordered him to stop human greed. The King of Vendace capsized boats until the fishermen stopped sailing out to the lakes. Hard times came for the inhabitants of the local settlements.
Then one day a fisherman’s wife made a sacrifice to appease the Prussian gods. The gods took pity on her and gave her iron cirlces by moonlight. The woman’s husband made a net out of them and sailed out to catch fish. To his surprise, he caught the King of Vendace. The fish asked him to spare its life and in return it will fill his nets with fish. The fisherman agreed and sailed out to fish. He caught plenty of fish.
He sold fish in Mikołajki, receiving a silver coin for each of them. He sat happily in the inn and, over a beer, inadvertently boasted about the secret of his successful catch. In the morning, all inhabitants sailed out heading for Śniardwy Lake, looking for the King of Vendace. When they found the fish, they decided to bring it in to Mikołajki. The King of Vendace promised them plentiful catches for sparing his life. The fishermen decided to spare the life of the ruler of the lakes, but – to keep an eye on him – fastened him with an iron chain to the bridge in Mikołajki.
Fot. www.facebook.com/MiastoMikolajki/
Fot. Król Sielaw – www.it.mragowo.pl
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