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Mysterious KrakowEveryone has heard about the curse of Pharaoh Tutankhamen who is one of the most famous Egyptian leaders. He died as a young man (he was only 20 years-old at the time) and since then he has allegedly taken revenge on anyone who dared to enter his tomb. In the 20th century, when the pharaoh’s grave was opened in 1926 the curse returned. There was even a maxim over the tomb’s entrance which warned unwanted visitors against the quick death which would meet them inside. But despite these warnings there were a few brave souls who decided to take the risk and who later paid a very high price for their courage.
One of those stories refers to the curse of Casmir Jagiellon. Whether it is a true story, every reader has to decide on his or her own. Acting according to the wise saying that “legends do not have to be believed in but they need to be told,” I shall now present the entire story: 1492 was a very important year in Europe. Columbus reached the shores of America (starting the era of great geographical discoveries), and in most European countries a new humanist way of thinking was displacing old medieval ways in the fields of art and philosophy. Poland was also entering its “Golden Age.” And in that very year Casmir Jagiellon died. He was the son of the great King Jagiello and the father of thirteen children, who either married western princes or became kings themselves. The king lost his life far from Wawel Hill in Grodno. At the time the sun was shining strongly, but somehow the ruler’s body had to be transported back to Krakow. In those days, of course, there were no such things as freezers or liquid nitrogen, which could help to preserve the body. The king’s corpse, naked without shoes or clothes, covered only with a valuable piece of fabric, was placed in a pine coffin filled with lime and sealed with resin. Even though quite imperfect, in those days it was the best possible way to conserve a human body. After a month the king was buried in a tomb of red marble. Theoretically, this is the end of the story – there was a king and now the king is gone. The sovereigns body was resting in the tomb and his name ended up in history books. But the story does not finish here. 500 hundred years later the king’s tomb was opened during renovation works. It all happened in April 1973. At the time some legends warned against tampering with the king’s tomb, but no one treated them seriously. Before opening the grave some microbiological tests had been conducted to ensure total safety, but they did not reveal anything unusual. Then, the scientists started their work. It turned out that the crypt had not been opened since the funeral of the king. There was a huge mess because the coffin broke in half and the king’s corpse fell out of the coffin which was not tightly sealed anymore. Everyone busied themselves with research and forgot about the curse. The first member of the research team died a year from opening the tomb; by 1975 there were already four causalities: Feliks Dańczak, Stefan Walczy, Kazimierz Hurlak, Jan Myrlak. According to Zbigniew Święch, the author of the book “ Curses, Microbes, Scientists”, the people involved in the works in Jagiellon’s grave were all healthy and young. This aroused some worries among the remaining members of the research team. As it later turned out, their fears were fully justified. In ten years’ time since the tomb was opened 11 more people suddenly died either of heart attack or stroke. People began more and more to associate those deaths with the curse. Today the official version explaining those tragic events is associated with a mould fungus Aspergillus Flavus, which can cause serious damage in a human organism and lead to cancer, stroke or heart attack. Well, yes it is all possible. But what about the microbiological tests which did not show anything? It turned out that only the first tests conducted during the tomb research in the 1970’s did not reveal anything. Others carried out a bit later showed that in the slightly increased temperature the test slides slowly filled with bacteria and mould fungi. It seemed that everything depended on the conditions which could stimulate the growth of the microbes. It is not surprising that the first tests did not reveal anything. Unaware of the danger, the scientists inhaled the bacteria and fungi which did not cause a serious infection right away. They revealed their deadly properties only after a few months or even years. The scientific explanation of the scientists’ mysterious deaths is not totally convincing for everyone. But no matter what the truth is, the story of the Jagiellon’s curse has become one of the most interesting Cracovian legends. |
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This tale, however, refers to a mysterious and totally exotic part of the world whose history is not clear even today. But have any stories of the same kind ever happened in Poland? Well… yes. Some of them even took place right here in Krakow, a city which still has plenty of mysteries awaiting to be solved.