The legend of the walled-up girl

According to the legend, when the tenement was being built or rebuilt (probably in the 16th century, in the time of the Kazuba family), a mason was ordered by the owner to wall a beautiful girl into the walls. In different versions, she is the owner's daughter, a servant, or a random victim.

There are three common explanations of 'why'. A building sacrifice — an old pagan superstition, common across Europe, that a building would be more durable and fortunate if a living person, especially someone young and innocent, was 'offered' in its foundations or walls. Another version speaks of revenge or jealousy: the owner is said to have been jealous of the beautiful girl and had her walled in alive. In the third version the girl is punished for betrayal — in some variants she was said to have had an affair with the mason.

The legend is a typical horror motif of Warsaw folklore, like other stories of people walled up in Old Town cellars. There is no historical evidence for it — it is a folk tale that added mystery to the old tenement.

The Tenement Under St. Anne is one of the oldest on the Market Square and has authentic Gothic elements, including a figure of St. Anne with the Virgin and Child in a niche. No human remains were found in the walls during renovations and reconstruction. Today it is a beautiful, historic tenement with a rich history — in 1937, for example, the first meeting of the Democratic Club was held here.

According to Christian tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the grandmother of Jesus. The term 'Anna Samotrzeć' is not a surname or nickname of the saint. In Old Polish, 'samotrzeć' means 'the three of them.' In art, it depicts three people from successive generations of one family: Saint Anne, her daughter Mary, and the young Jesus. This motif symbolizes motherhood, care, and the bond between generations.

Similar legends of walled-up people can be found in many old European cities. It is an element of old building superstitions, which today survive only as a dark curiosity in tales of the old city.