Have You Heard of Castles Where Lives Were Sealed Within? Sinister Stories of Enclosed Ladies, Nuns, and Charioteer
Walled Up and Saved
Scary stories typically have a predictable conclusion of: thirst, hunger, and despair which leads to death after several days of torment. However, there have been instances where those unfortunate men and women who were walled up managed to escape unharmed. One notable case occurred in 1577 in southern Bohemia, where Petr Kořenský of Terešov was punished for allegedly engaging in an affair with the Rosenberg regent, Jakub Krcin of Jelčany, and his wife, Margaret of Žeberk, was sealed into the walls of the Renaissance fortress of Svébohy. That evening, the townspeople attempted to rescue their beloved lady, but their efforts were thwarted by a military detachment summoned from Nové Hrady.
The noblewoman could not escape until the following day when she was rescued by a group of miners, who were reportedly hired by Krcin, from somewhere in České Budějovice. Eyewitness accounts describe how “they gave her a haversack and a hat, so she could pass unnoticed among them in the town. Behind the rectory, they waited with a wagon; they placed her inside and drove her away.” However, it remains unclear where she was taken; Margaret’s whereabouts became lost in Trhové Sviny, and it was never discovered what truly happened at the Svébohy fortress.
Similarly, a tale from Veveří Castle also has an intriguing end: one night, a young man from nearby Brno was brought here blindfolded and instructed to wall up an unknown lady. However, the mason cleverly left one brick loose. Additionally, on his way back, he managed to learn which direction the carriage was headed, and he supposedly organized a rescue mission that successfully saved the woman’s life.
Two Walled Katherines
The stories of two Katherines, both unfaithful and both ending in mysterious circumstances, form the basis of the narratives associated with Lipnice and Opočno. The older story comes from Lipnice, where around 1408, one Katherine paid with her life for her betrayal. Known as Catherine of Landštejn, she was the wife of the High Purgrave of the Bohemian Kingdom, Čeňka of Vartemberk, and had fallen for the lord of the nearby castle of Orlik above Humpolec. It’s said that the castle lord had his brother-in-law murdered and walled up his wife along with the corpse in a niche of the castle chapel. This dramatic tale took a twist: during the early 18th century, while constructing the chapel in Lipnice, workers reportedly stumbled upon a niche containing two skeletons, one female and one male, possibly clad in armor.
A similar discovery ties to Opočno, where in the 19th century, it was rumored that a cellar within the castle revealed a niche containing a woman dressed in a medieval gown, seated in a chair. There’s no solid evidence to support this claim, and she is said to have soon disintegrated into dust. This lady is believed to possibly be Catherine of Šelmberk, who was the wife of Mikuláš Trčka from Lípa, and had fallen for a young knight. Both lovers met tragic fates: the knight was executed by the castle lord and his wife was interred in the cellar. This event is said to have occurred in 1507, yet the striking similarities between the tales of Lipnice and Opočno raise intriguing questions: were these the same Katherine? Did a walled-up Katherine truly exist?
The White Lady from Horšovský Týn
The misfortunes of the walled-up lady from Horšovský Týn are notorious: legend has it that her husband Volf of Ronšperk brought a young, beautiful woman to his estate. He secretly married her in Loreto, but before the ceremony could conclude, he had his first wife sealed into the walls. The castle holds more secrets, as some former workers described hearing the sound of footsteps and the opening and closing of doors in locked rooms. Is it the ghost of the walled castle lady who still roams the hallways and chambers?
Skeletons from Svojanov and Others Walled Up Alive
More than just the romantic tale of the love between Záviš and Kunhuta, Svojanov Castle has gained fame for its eerie mysteries and chilling discoveries. Various sections of the castle have uncovered bricked-up human skeletons and remains of children’s skeletons, with many still entombed within their unintended graves. Visitors with heightened sensitivities often report experiencing sudden cold sensations and hearing strange sounds while exploring the castle.- The legend concerning an alcove at Sovinec Castle tells of a girl walled up alongside an elderly man. However, there are numerous other enigmas and bizarre tales associated with this site, meaning the story of the walled pair is not accompanied by any vivid reputation.
The South Bohemian regions of Nové Hrady, Landštejn, Kámen, and even the monastery in Kladruby have their walled ladies as well. It is said that in its underground, one can find the alleged lovers, a nun from Chotěš Monastery and a Benedictine monk.- In the narrowest street of the Czech Republic, Kato’s Lane in Kadan, the walled nun has been said to appear unexpectedly to passersby; it is rumored that she had a love affair with the local executioner.
- She has also been sighted in Horní Slavkov, but it was an unfortunate mistake: the victim was actually a coachman who had brought a carriage loaded with the casualties of the plague epidemic to the church cellar of St. George. After unloading his cargo, he found himself trapped with no escape.
