The Maiden from the Window - the legend of Deotyma

Did you know that the famous 'maiden from the window' is actually from Gdansk?

The history of the 'Maiden from the Window'

Jadwiga Łuszczewska, known by her pen name Deotyma, came to Gdansk in 1858. She wrote travel reports from her trip that were published in the Warsaw-based 'Illustrated Weekly'. The young writer decided to bring beautiful amber from Gdansk to her friends. In the amber maker's house, where she went shopping, she met his daughter: a maiden with amber hair, reminiscent of the sea king's daughter. Apparently, the beautiful 'amber maiden' would watch guests leave through a round window in the roof of the house.

Perhaps this beautiful woman from Gdansk appears in Deotyma's famous novel from the late 19th century, 'The Maiden from the Window', which is about the love between a sailor and a merchant's daughter from Gdansk?

The Maiden from the Window in Gdansk

The people of Gdansk decided to commemorate the character from the novel and set up the 'amber maiden's window' in a house neighboring Artus Court. The window would open at specific hours, and there was also a competition for a live maiden from the window. Unfortunately, the window stopped working in 2018...

Today, only a fresco remains on the house known as 'The New Court House', which is next to Artus Court (45 Long Market Street), and the city authorities promise to restart the robot-maiden after the renovation of Artus Court is completed.

Gdansk coloring page for children to print 'The Maiden from the Window'

PS. If you want to learn more about the legends of Gdansk 'on the ground', we recommend the following walking route:

Easy

directions_walk child_friendly

Visiting Gdańsk with children - a walk with legends

straighten 1.7km

timer 28min

north_east 22m

south_east 19m