060 12/2019 MYSIA WIEŻA W KRUSZWICY

The so-called The Mouse Tower is located on the Rzępowski Peninsula, on Lake Gopło in the town of Kruszwica (Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship). It is a brick, octagonal fortification work from the mid-fourteenth century, erected in the times of Casimir the Great, as an element of the castle in Kruszwica, which was to protect Kujawy against the Teutonic invasions. The castle, in a slightly changed form, survived until the mid-17th century, when it was destroyed by the Swedes in 1657 during the so-called The deluge. The only remaining element of the fortifications was the tower, which has been a tourist attraction and observation tower since the end of the 19th century. The common name, i.e. the Mouse Tower, comes from the legend of Popiel, who, after being dethroned by Polań Duke Siemowit (an ancestor of the most historic Mieszko I), was to take refuge in the tower in Kruszwica, where he was devoured by mice. This story is quoted both in the Chronicle of Gallus Anonymus and in the Chronicle of Greater Poland.