The castle of Hanigovce, hidden in the beautiful countryside, hides a legend that used to strike fear in the surroundings. Long before the famous Camaldolese monk, a well-known herbalist and alchemist in Hanigovce, another alchemist with the attribute of death was invited to the castle. His name was Father Francesco. In 1460, a rumour spread in the area that King Matthias had given Hanigov Castle as a deposit to Ladislav Podmanický for 3,000 gold coins. A year later, the castle fell into the hands of the Perényi family. Then the family exchanged the castle and Pečovská Nová Ves with Mikulas Tarczay, around whom a suspicious-looking Father Francesco, who was preceded by the rumour of a poisoner, began to circulate.
According to legend, with the help of poison he “settled” many property disputes. Of course, always to the satisfaction of only one client. The injured cursed and damned the pater to hot hell, from which the “spiritual” used to have frightening dreams and visions. Padre Francesco had wormed his way into the good graces of the lord of the castle. Tarczay suffered from the feeling of being an unacknowledged hero and longed to rise above the other castle lords and be more famous than them.
His predecessor Peter Perényi was a famous man. A skilful and fearless castle lord, he saved the life of King Sigismund himself in a battle against the Turks and a considerable enemy force. This was a great motivation for the castle lord. He suffered from a feeling of inferiority, and the clever padre picked up on it immediately. It was remembered how Francesco, in a theatrical voice, gesticulating as if from the pulpit, proclaimed his shabby oration:
„Most devils are in the Vatican“ Castle Lord Tarczay took a sip of wine and added his usual inquiry:
„We must castrate the devils!“
The fairy-tale region around Hanigovce Castle is rich in many types of mushrooms. Father Francesco, like a true alchemist, walked through the countryside and discovered a special fungus on the shady slopes. Many centuries ago, it was known as the black spider (today the plush spider). This deadly poisonous fungus is, for reasons unknown, the most sophisticated invention from the laboratory called nature. Poisoning expert Francesco was only too happy to share his knowledge with the gentleman, who listened with interest, and in his ambitious mind a hellish plan began to take shape. Without risk of detection, he would gradually poison all the castle lords who dared to rise above him. The padre was a man of addition. In his wanderings in search of mushrooms he told the castle lord of the most famous grass, Locaste, which in old Rome had won the admiration especially of the patricians, whose rivals were dying of an unknown disease in the embrace of a black spider, which was colourless, tasteless, odourless, and impossible to prove, for the symptoms of poisoning did not begin to appear until some weeks after the poison had been administered. The lord of Hanigo Castle had reserved an alchemist's workshop for the searcher, in front of which an armed guard stood day and night. In it, he began to produce a deadly poisonous mushroom powder.
But fate played with the lord of the castle. When everything was ready, Mikuláš Tarczay got scared and the anti-Turkish campaign, launched by King Louis II, came into the picture. The castle lord of Hanigovce armed himself with a dagger and a long sword, put on his armour and boldly went into battle. He consistently kept by his king's side. History would have repeated itself to the letter, as with the brave Lord Perényi, but Tarczaym's barrels at birth did not augur a long life. The sharp point of a Turkish missile had pierced the thin plate of his armour, which was intended for King Louis II. Tarczay's dream finally came true. He became a hero. Unfortunately, only at the cost of his life. It happened in 1526 near Mohács. In the meantime, the father-in-law had to flee the castle because it had become the property of the Augustinian order, who held it until 1555. King Louis II did not forget the hero Mikulas Tarczay. His daughter Anna Tarczay received Hanig Castle as a gift as a reward for her father's heroism.
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