The Yellow Lady

King Zygmunt August met his future wife at the Royal Castle in Warsaw. At that time Barbara lived in the palace of the Radziwill and the lovers met secretly in her palace through the secret passage, which connect the Castle with her house. After secret wedding in Wilno and the ceremony of Barbara’s coronation they returned to Warsaw again . They lived in a newly built wing of the castle overlooking the Vistula river.
Their marriage did not last long because Barbara suddenly got ill on a mysterious disease and died.
King Zygmunt August had been sad for a long time after the death of his beloved wife Barbara Radziwiłłówna. When he fell in depression to remedy this, his aides hired German magician Tureus to raise his wife. One night in 1569 Tureus closed with the king in the queen’s chamber . Tureus told him to sit on a chair facing back-to-door and set before the king a mirror. Queen appeared in the yellow dress after a special rite behind the king’s back but he could see her in the mirror. The legend says that her spirit was seen several times on the old town in Warsaw, it always wore the yellow dress and held the the mirror at the height of her face.