Golub Castle

At the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries, on a steep hill in Golub, the Teutonic Knights built a magnificent castle. Within its walls they combined monastic discipline with the tasks of a fortress. The building owes its present shape to princess Anna Vasa. When in 1611 King Sigismund III Vasa granted the Golub county to her sister, the former Teutonic fortress, and later the seat of the aldermen, gained the status of the queen's summer residence. Anna Wazowna turned a Gothic stronghold into a Renaissance palace residence. She took such a liking to the Golub castle that she still takes care of it today. It is said that she can be seen dressed in a white robe, strolling around the castle chambers and cloisters at night...  From the courtyard you can get to the first floor of the chateau by the so-called horse staircase. They got their name from the knights who rode up on horseback to the very chambers. A local legend warns - whoever looks back while climbing the stairs, will get infected at the least opportune moment during the year. Standing in the gallery, it is worth entering one of the small rooms hidden in the wall. These are the former penitential cells, where sinful monks were locked to pray in solitude to expiate their faults. It is said that anyone who has something on his conscience should enter the cell, and his sins will be forgiven. The castle chapel has retained its original Gothic character. Next to it there is an infirmary, i.e. a hospital room. Here the monks were provided with medical care, and in the following years it was here that Anna Vasa practised herbal medicine. In the refectory, a place where the monks used to eat meals and hold feasts, today you can see replicas of old artillery weapons. In the chapterhouse, the former assembly hall, where the Teutonic Knights convened and later Anna Vasa had her bedroom, there hangs a portrait of the queen. Allegedly, this painting concealed one of the secrets of the castle - a secret passage hidden in the wall...