The legend of Wanda who didn’t want to marry a German

She was young and beautiful, and is remembered for a wise and just reign. To save her people from invaders, she chose death among the waves of the Vistula.

Legends about Wanda, the beautiful young ruler of Kraków, frequently thought to be the daughter of King Krak himself, are associated with the mound in Mogiła. According to one of the versions of the legends, Wanda, famous for her fairness and wisdom, aroused love in the heart of the German prince, Rydygier (Rittiger). The haughty youth announced that unless Wanda takes his hand, he will attack Kraków. Unwilling to put the city in jeopardy, the princess chose death instead of marrying the Prince. She plunged into the waves of the Vistula, and her dead body was found nowhere else but in Mogiła. To honour the brave deed of their monarch, her people built a high kurghan – called therefore the Wanda Mound – to her memory.

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