There are several legends associated with the castle, which have gained popularity over the years. Some of them had even influenced its mysterious character.
THE LEGEND OF JURAJ JANOSIK
Jánošík was famous throughout the Carpathians for robbing the rich and giving to the poor. He took revenge for wrongdoings against peasants and was fighting with the cruel homeowners. He was a long hunter by soldiers who were told by their leaders that there was a price on his head. He was eventually captured and chained to a rock in the dungeons at Niedzica Castle. He longed for freedom, the green mountain pastures and his beloved Maryna. One day he saw a ray of sunshine streaming through a small gap. Gathering his strength, he tensed and flexed his muscles, managed to break the chain and break down the door and ran straight to his beloved through the window of the castle chapel. Little did he know that she agreed to hand him over in return for promised riches. When he sat down at the table, she sent a farmhand to bring the soldiers and Janosik was then taken to Liptov, where he was tried and sentenced. He was executed by being hanged on a meat hook ‘by his ribs’, a type of execution reserved for robbers.
Juraj Janosik (historical figure) was born in 1688 in the village of Terhova, and in 1711 became the leader of a highwayman group which robbed the rich and helped the poor. After the brutal trial, during which he was tortured, Janosik was sentenced to death by hanging on a meat hook in Liptovsky Mikulas in 1713, at the age of 25.
THE LEGEND OF BRUNHILDA
A long time ago, the newly-wed Princess Brunhilda and Prince Bogusław lived at the castle. They quarreled a lot, disrupting the tranquility of other inhabitants. One day, the infuriated Brunhilda threw a vase at Bogusław and he, without thinking, grabbed her and pushed her away – causing an accident. Brunhilda fled straight into the castle well. Torn by remorse, Bogusław wailed: ‘Forgive me, Brunhilda!’ and in response he heard the words: ‘I forgive you, Bogusław the Bald’. The next day he woke up without his luxuriant black hair.
Now they both roam around the castle: Brunhilda’s ghost, followed by the ghost of her husband, who still begs for her forgiveness.
THE LEGEND OF UMINA
In the mid-18th century, Sebastian Berzeviczy, a descendant of the original owners of the castle, traveled to Peru and married an Inca princess. Their daughter Umina married the nephew of an Inca Chief. After the fall of the uprising against the Spanish invaders, the family was forced to flee. The first place they sought shelter was Venice. Umina’s son Antonio was born there. Sadly, soon after the birth, Umina’s husband was brutally murdered. Fearing for the life of his daughter and grandson, Sebastian Berzeviczy moved to Niedzica with them, but their peace was disturbed very soon. Spaniards found them even there and stabbed Umina.
To protect his grandson, Sebastian called upon a Moravian relative, Waclaw Benesz, and an act of adoption was drawn up in 1797. However, the history of this family breaks off at this point, and its secret remains unknown for many years. Many years later, in 1946, Antonio’s great-great-grandson, Andrzej Benesz, discovered a mysterious document: plied strings with knots, a so-called quipu, a recording device used by the Incas. It supposedly contained clues to find the long-lost Inca’s treasure.
Despite many attempts to unravel the secret, the treasure remains hidden to this day. As for quipu – this inscrutable cipher, never translated, has been lost, leaving the mystery unsolved.
THE LEGEND OF THE OAK TREE OF THE PALOCSAY FAMILY
A long time ago, the owner of the castle walked around the surrounding areas and saw a Gypsy woman who planted an acorn, prophesying to him that he must take care of the oak tree that it would grow into. She warned him that when the oak withers, his family would be extinguished. According to legend, the oak began to wilt in the 19th century. Meanwhile, the last male descendant of the Horvath-Palocsay family dies, ending the story of his family at the Dunajec Castle.
To this day, the moldering trunk of that legendary oak tree is situated near the car park and the figure of St. George was placed on the outside – he was the patron of the first of the Horvaths at the castle.