The Cloth Hall knife

Kraków · Poland · Historic building

A knife hangs on a chain under the arcade of the Cloth Hall. With it, the elder brother is said to have killed the younger over a tower.

In the northern arcade of the Cloth Hall an old knife hangs on a chain, and it has hung there so long that nobody remembers who put it up. The legend ties it to the two unequal towers of St Mary's. Two brothers were each given one tower to build. The younger man's tower rose faster and finer, and the elder climbed the scaffolding with this knife and stabbed him. The remorse came slowly: years later he went up the tower during a feast day, shouted his crime out over the whole market square and threw himself down in front of the crowd. The knife was hung in the Cloth Hall as a warning, and for a long time people in Krakow said it was the same blade used to cut the ears off thieves caught at the stalls. Plenty of visitors touch it in passing; most then walk on a little faster.

FAQ

Where is The Cloth Hall knife located?

The Cloth Hall knife is in Kraków, Poland.

More haunted places in Kraków