Haapsalu (German and Swedish: Hapsal; Finnish: Haapasalo; Russian: Хаапсалу, Гапсаль) is a seaside resort town located on the west coast of Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Lääne County, and on 1 January 2012 it had a population of 11,587.
Haapsalu Castle (also Haapsalu Episcopal Castle, Estonian: Haapsalu piiskopilinnus) is a castle with cathedral in Haapsalu, Estonia, founded in the thirteenth century as the seat of the Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek. According to legend, during full moons in August, an image of a maiden, The White Lady, appears on the inner wall of the chapel.
On full moon nights in August an image of a maiden, The White Lady, is said to appear on the inner wall of the chapel.
During the reign of Ösel-Wiek Bishop, every canon was supposed to lead a chaste and virtuous life according to the rules of the monastery. Access of women to the Episcopal Castle was forbidden by threat of death. A legend tells that a canon fell in love with an Estonian girl and brought secretly the maiden into the castle. She hid by dressing as a choirboy and remained a secret for a long time, but when the bishop visited Haapsalu again, the young singer caught his attention and he ordered an investigation of the singer's gender.
Upon finding the girl, the bishop summoned his council and it decided that the girl should be immured in the wall of the chapel and the canon was to be put in prison where he was starved to death. The builders left a cavity into the wall and the poor girl with a piece of bread and a mug of water was walled in. For some time her cries for help were heard. Yet her soul could not find the peace and, as a result, she appears on the Baptistery’s window to grieve for her beloved man already for centuries, and also to prove the immortality of love.
Aitäh, Katrina !
Sent on: August 10, 2015
Received on: August 11, 2015
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