There are several legends connected to the Mill’s magical and mysterious atmosphere. One tells of a miller and his wife:
In one of the valleys of Vavřinec Stream stands a picturesque mill – at first glance a perfectly ordinary building. Yet it is shrouded in all sorts of legends.
According to one of them, devils settled here long ago, turning the mill wheel furiously even in times of absolute drought, when the stream’s bed was bone-dry. Perhaps that’s why there is a tale among the old-timers of a labyrinth of secret passages and rock cavities from which water would spring, turning the wheel at such moments.
But it wasn’t just devils who inhabited the ancient mill. Another legend says that one evening an unknown visitor knocked at the door. When the miller answered the door, he saw a beautiful young woman with deep, captivating blue eyes. The miller, astonished by her beauty, stood stock still. All that was going through his mind at the time was how to keep the girl in the mill and make her his wife. At first, the girl did not want to get married, but when she discovered how many gold coins the miller kept in his chest, she let herself be persuaded. She married the miller and lived happily with him for a time. But then she started spending all the money, until every last penny of it vanished. Hard times followed. She blamed her husband for their poverty and wanted to run away.
At that time, however, a wealthy merchant was travelling through the region and was ambushed by bandits near the Kouřim crossroads. The merchant fought back as hard as he could, but was outnumbered. Severely injured, he dragged himself to the mill, where he died. As the miller laid the dead merchant in his coffin, he saw a large sum of money behind his belt. At that moment the miller’s wife urged him to take up the highwayman’s trade. And so it happened. When the miller died, he had to turn around and help travellers until he atoned for his guilt. But what happened to the miller’s wife? Come and find out at Mill Davidkov...
