Polish legends

1. Polish legends • Legend about Lech, Czech and Rus (how the land of Poland started to exist) • Legend about Popiel and Piast • Legend about the quarrel in neighboarhoods (our regional story) • Legend about Warsaw Marmaid

2. The legend about Lech, Czech and Rus Once upon a time there were three brothers Lech, Czech and Rus. Each of them was tall and handsome. Lech was honest and cheerful, Rus – serious and shy and Czech – very clever and fun loving.

3. They were looking for lands for their people.

4. Long time they were walking through woods, mountains and valleys. Finally, they found a beautiful lake which was reflecting the blue sky.

5. At the lake on a hill they saw a huge oak tree where was anest of a white eagle.

6. When the bird saw the brothers, it flew high up in the air. Rus straightly took his bow and aimed at the eagle, but Lech stopped him. That was a sign.

7. Lech decided to settle there. He built there a castle town which he called Gniezno. The white eagle on the red background was made his symbol. (now it’s the national emblem of Poland) Czech and Rus went further. Rus settled in the east where he started the country for Russians and Czech settled in the south where he built the country for Czech people.

8. The legend about Popiel and Piast It happened in the times when prince Popiel was ruling in Gniezno. He organized a big party due to his sons’ first hair cutting. At this ceremony a boy was going from under mother’s care to father’s. Nearby the garden there lived a poor wheelwright Piast with his family. Together with his wife Rzepicha he was growing land. Piast’s son was just about 7 years old. As the tradition was he was also to have his first hair cutting.

9. For the party Piast invited many neighboars. There came also two strangers traveling around. Though Piast was poor he invited them for the meal, too. In the moment of the hair cutting ceremony one of the strangers approached the boy and christened him Siemowid. At the same time at prince Popiel’s ceremony they started to run out of food and drink. At the Piast’s house it was more and more of them. All the guests believed it was a good sign for Piast’s home. When Siemowid grew up, he became the prince. People thought Siemowid would be a wise and honest ruler as the gods were with him. Since that time the kings and princes of the Piast dynasty ruled for ages, and Popiel was eaten by mice.

10. The legend about the quarrel in neighboarhoods One day a lonely rider rapidly came toKoszalin. He directly approached the town hall to ask the town governors for help.

12. The fisher men from Uniescie were attacked and robbed by people from Kolobrzeg. They stole valuable salt, nets and fish. They said that only they could fish in the Baltic Sea. The people from Koszalin were really touched to hear it as their town had lots of trade interests in fishing.

13. Angry they ran towards Mscice. But the robbers took another way to run away. They wanted tomislead the chasers.

14. Nearby the Parnowskie Lake it came to a big battle. Koszalinians were strongly attacking and in a short time Kolobrzeg people were losing. Koszalin won the battle and the robbers left all the things they stole, weapons and their flag.

15. To remember the event, Koszalinians were celebrating the victory every year by hanging up the flag on the town hall tower. That was finally stopped when after a hundred years a man from Kolobrzeg named Antoni Schlieffer became the mayor of Koszalin. From that time both towns were trading, fishing and sailing together in harmony.