Pan Twardowski

[1] Twardowski sold his soul in exchange for special powers – such as being able to summon for King Sigismund Augustus the spirit of his deceased wife – and eventually met a tragic fate.

The tale of Twardowski exists in various versions, and forms the basis for many works of fiction, including the humorous ballad "Pani Twardowska" by Adam Mickiewicz.

With the devil's aid, Twardowski quickly rose to wealth and fame, eventually becoming a courtier of King Sigismund Augustus, who sought consolation in magic and astrology after the death of his beloved wife, Barbara Radziwiłł.

After years of evading his fate, Twardowski was eventually tricked by the devil and caught not in the city, but at an inn called Rzym (Rome in Polish).

The legend of Pan Twardowski has inspired a great many Polish, Czech, Ukrainian, Russian, and German poets, novelists, composers, directors, and other artists.

The sorcerer might have lived either somewhere in the city center, near the Rynek Główny or Ulica Grodzka, or across the River Vistula in the village of Krzemionki (now part of Kraków).

In the sacristy of a church in Węgrów, hangs a polished metal plate claimed to be the magic mirror which once belonged to Pan Twardowski.

[5] It is also said that Pan Twardowski spent some time in the city of Bydgoszcz, where, in his memory, a figure was recently mounted in a window of a tenement, overseeing the Old Town.