Crown Tribunal, Lublin – The Devil's Paw

Lublins vojvodskap · Poland · Urban site

In Lublin's old courthouse, devils held their own trial by night – and branded a paw print into the judges' table as their signature.

The Crown Tribunal in the middle of Lublin's Old Town square was for centuries the nobility's highest court, and the building carries what may be Poland's strangest legal legend. In 1637 bribed judges allegedly ruled against a poor widow; in despair she cried out that even devils would judge more justly. That very night, the story goes, a court of devils convened in the hall, found in the widow's favour – and their presiding judge burned the imprint of his paw into the judges' table as confirmation. The table bearing the "Czarcia Łapa", the Devil's Paw, is displayed today at the National Museum in Lublin, the mark still visible in the wood.

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Where is Crown Tribunal, Lublin – The Devil's Paw located?

Crown Tribunal, Lublin – The Devil's Paw is in Lublins vojvodskap, Poland.

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Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.