Two cities so beloved by tourists and so dissimilar to each other, it turns out, have the same legends. Let's talk about them.
Many people have doubles - if you wish, you can find hundreds of pages on the Internet showing photographs of celebrities next to their lesser-known "copies". Ghosts also have doubles, but if living people are similar in appearance and very different in fate, then the opposite is true for ghosts. They duplicate each other's sad stories.
Sold skeleton
What people do not go to in order to get hold of gold. Someone sells a soul, someone - a body, and someone - and even their own bones. The University of Prague was once a student of Vincent, who was distinguished by exceptional growth. Not only the girls looked at the tall handsome man, wondering how to lure him into their nets. Vincent attracted the attention of an anatomy professor, who, apparently, dreamed of getting a large-sized study guide. Once he remarked to the young man that his skeleton could do a good job for the department. The student, who was always short of money, was not taken aback and immediately offered to conclude a deal - after his death his bones would become the property of the university. The delighted scholar gave Vincent a significant amount, and the young man went to spend it in the nearest tavern. Alcohol with gambling is known todo not lead to good. The student was killed in a drunken brawl that night. To find peace, he needs to return his skeleton, and Vincent does not lose hope - as soon as the sun sets, a huge ghost goes to wander around the Carolinum University complex and ask passers-by for money. Especially often seen by those who are drunk.
Vincent has a companion in misfortune - the former bell ringer of the San Marco bell tower in Venice. During his lifetime, he looked rather unusual: more than 2 m in height with disproportionately long arms. This attracted the attention of the director of the Venetian Scientific Institute. Further, the story developed according to a well-known scenario: seduced by a hefty sum, the ringer agreed after his death to give up his bones to the anatomical collection of the institution. The scientist jokingly promised to put him in a glass chest with a bell in his hand - to oversee the safety of the collection. Being a great lover of strong drinks, the rich ringer practically settled in the nearest osteria. Soon enough he had a stroke of apoplexy and it was time to pay the bills. The skeleton still stands in the Natural History Museum, housed in the former Turkish courtyard. At night, he takes off from his seat and nostalgically goes to San Marco to ring the largest bell - Maragona 12 times. And then until dawn he wanders along the canals, begging for a coin from the counter.
Promotional video:
Ghost children
Tradition tells of a disaster that once befell the Jewish ghettos in Prague and Venice. Both here and there suddenly a plague epidemic began, affecting only young children. No matter what the residents did, they could not stop the plague. Moreover, it soon became known that innocent souls did not leave the mortal world, but continue to play at night in the cemetery in the form of ghosts.
Ghetto in Prague.
In Prague, the famous creator of the Golem, Rabbi Leo, sorted out the situation. He sent one of his disciples to the cemetery at night, ordering one of the ghostly babies to bring the shroud. The disciple obediently went to the graves and made sure that the rumor was not lying - as soon as the clock struck midnight, the cemetery was filled with little playing ghosts. Tearing off the cover from one of them, the young man rushed to the synagogue and handed the booty to the Rebbe. After a while, the ghostly child came for his property - without a shroud, he could not return to the grave. Rebbe Leo did not refuse his request, but in response asked him to tell about the causes of the epidemic.
In Venice, in the same way, he came into contact with the spirit of one of the children of Rebbe Jacob Sterkel, the supreme leader of the community, who was advised to communicate with the ghost by the Prophet Elijah himself. The reason for the child's pestilence in both cases turned out to be the same - a cruel mother killed a newborn baby. As soon as the perpetrators were punished, as in Prague, and in the Venetian ghetto, children stopped dying, and peace reigned in the cemeteries.
Daughter-nun
The opinions of parents and children about a successful marriage can be very different. Wealthy girls who fell in love with poor but noble youths often faced the need to go to a monastery for the edification of others. If they tried to resist fate, they could lose their lives. So, as a result of a tragic love story, two ghosts of girls appeared: one walks at night around the monastery of St. Agnes in the Jewish quarter of Prague, the other mourns her bitter fate at the monastery of St. Anne in Castello Venice.
Both chose inappropriate lovers: a noble and wealthy native of Prague gave her heart to a poor knight, and a Venetian woman completely fell in love with a carpenter. Both gathered to get married against the will of their parents, for which they paid. Before leaving for the monastery, the Prague woman decided to meet with her knight for the last time, which her vigilant father learned about. Outraged by his daughter's stubbornness, he solved the problem in the most radical way - stabbed her. The Venetian turned out to be even more decisive and was going to flee the monastery, not knowing that the nuns of the monastery wanted to intercede for her and dissuade her father from condemning the girl to tonsure. At the request of the abbess, the father of young Chiaretta Loredan, who was sailing to the monastery at the request of the abbess, caught her exactly at the moment when she climbed over the fence, planning to sail away on a boat with her beloved. The fate of the girl was decided - her own father thrust a sword into her.
I must say that the ghostly bloody nuns did not become hardened and each of them had already managed to save at least one couple, who were threatened with misfortune. Both dissuaded young girls who were ready to poison themselves from suicide, since poverty did not allow them to marry their loved ones. Moreover, both provided these girls. A ghost girl from Prague took the poison from a desperate lover and replaced it with a sack of money, accompanied by gentle admonitions not to do stupid things. The ghost girl from Venice, possessing a more violent temperament, simply knocked the bottle of poison out of the hands of the failed suicide, and threw the bag of money at her feet. These spirits have not yet found rest and still wander among the monastery walls.
Turkish bride
Jealousy is a dangerous feeling and has generated a lot of ghosts. In Prague, a young Turkish merchant and an innkeeper's daughter once met at the Tyn Court. Everything went well, and after a while the young man left for his homeland to get the parents' permission for marriage. Alas, he was absent for too long, and the girl despaired of waiting for him. The former lover returned on her wedding day with another. Having learned the news, the Turk persuaded the bride to please him with the last meeting. The girl agreed and disappeared. The failed groom cut off her head, which he took with him - apparently, as a keepsake. The terrible trophy did not bring him joy, and after a while the Turk decided to get rid of it. And many years later, the ghost of a young man in Turkish clothes with the head of a blonde girl in his hand appeared on the streets of the Old City. He was seen by a passer-by who was interested,why did the ghost go down to the basement of one of the houses. A passer-by shared his bewilderment with friends, people went down into the dungeon and dug up the girl's body there, near which lay the severed head.
A similar fate befell another beauty. Turkish woman Zelima met with merchant Osman in Venice. No one obstructed the young, and they agreed to get married. As a respectful son, Osman equipped a ship to inform his family in Turkey of the joyous event. Zelima faithfully waited for him, but years passed and she came to the conclusion that her beloved had abandoned her. Then the girl accepted the offer of a Venetian merchant from San Barnaba and lived in a happy marriage for several weeks. Then Osman appeared, who fell into despair and conveyed to Zelima a request for a last meeting. She agreed and disappeared without a trace. Much later, in the basement of the "house of converts," where Turkish captives converted to Christianity, they found a box with the severed head of a black-haired woman. A body in beautiful clothes was also found under the floor. After some time, the ghost of the girl convinced the Turk to reunite his head and body, but this did not bring poor Zelima peace. Until now, in the vicinity of Ponte de la Turchette, you can find the spirit of a beauty with black braids and a slit on the neck. She cannot speak, she only looks with sad eyes.
Olga Ladygina
