Place - GrodziecThe Red Ghost of Grodziec

The former Piast castle of Grodziec in Lower Silesia has its own terrifying ghost. It's a spectral knight known as the Red Phantom, who can be found wandering the castle's chambers and inner courtyard.

A skeleton in armor and a long purple cloak was already a terrifying presence in the times of the Legnica Piast dynasty; records of this eerie phenomenon dating back to the nineteenth century have survived to this day. In the post-war years, Polish settlers clearly saw a specter standing atop the castle's highest tower.

It's difficult to say with any certainty which of the former owners appears in the castle chambers, as before the castle fell to the Legnica Piast dynasty, it was a nest of robber knights for many decades. More than one of them fell during a plundering expedition, and more than one, by the prince's decree, put their heads under the executioner's axe in the market square in nearby Lwówek Śląski or Legnica.

The appearance of the Red Phantom is also linked to a beautiful medieval legend about a castellan named John. The Red Phantom appeared to this lord, who ruthlessly oppressed his subjects, during a feast. The castellan was so terrified that he freed all the prisoners and devoted the rest of his life to good deeds, fasting, and prayer. When he died, a sculpture of his head was set into the wall of the knights' chamber.

Years passed, and his grandson and namesake, just as cruel as his grandfather had been in his youth, took his seat in Grodziec. One day, he was presiding over his subjects who had failed to pay him tribute. When he sentenced a poor man to starvation, ducats rained from the mouth of the stone head. This event shocked the greedy lord as much as the appearance of the Red Ghost had once shocked his grandfather. He freed the condemned men and allowed his daughter Agnes to marry the prince's drużycznik, leaving his estates to the young couple.

Three early Renaissance head sculptures: a young woman, a helmeted knight, and an older man with an open mouth, remind us of this extraordinary event.