Łokietek’s Cave in Ojców: The Spider That Saved a King

Po polsku: Grota Łokietka i pająk, który uratował króla

Can a spider’s web save a future king of Poland? In Ojców, half an hour from Kraków, everyone will tell you it can. This is the story of Władysław Łokietek, the cave where he hid, and how to visit it yourself.

The legend

It’s the end of the 13th century. Prince Władysław, nicknamed Łokietek („Elbow-high”) because he was very short, is fighting for the throne of Kraków. Things are going badly: the Czech king Wenceslas II has taken the city, and his knights are hunting Łokietek all over the region.

One day the chase is very close. Local people show the prince a cave on a hillside above the Prądnik Valley and help him hide inside. As soon as he disappears into the darkness, a little spider starts weaving a web across the entrance. Thread by thread, until the whole opening is covered.

The Czech knights arrive, look at the cave and see a perfect web, glittering with dew. Nobody could have gone in there for days, they decide, and ride on. Łokietek is saved. According to the legend he stayed in the cave for weeks, and local people secretly brought him food. Years later he became king, and his son, Casimir the Great, built a castle in Ojców.

Is any of it true?

More than you’d think. The medieval chronicler Jan Długosz wrote that during his wars with the Czechs, Łokietek hid in forests and wild places and rarely slept under a roof. Archaeologists from the Jagiellonian University found spurs from the 13th and 14th centuries in caves around Ojców, and a coin of Wenceslas II in the nearby Ciemna Cave. It doesn’t prove Łokietek slept in this particular cave, but knights of that time really did hide here.

Visiting Łokietek’s Cave today

Łokietek’s Cave (Grota Łokietka) is the longest cave in Ojców National Park, about 320 metres. Visitors walk around 150 metres of it with a guide, and the visit takes about half an hour. You pass the Knights’ Hall and the „Bedroom”, where the future king is said to have slept. At the entrance there’s an iron gate shaped like a spider’s web, a nice nod to the real hero of the story.

It’s cool inside all year, so bring a sweater even on a hot day. The cave is open seasonally, roughly from spring to autumn. In May and June school groups come in big numbers, so you may need to wait a bit.

Make it a day trip from Kraków

Ojców is only about 25 km north of Kraków, and the area is perfect for a day out. Nearby you’ll find:

• The castle ruins in Ojców, built by Casimir the Great
• The Chapel on the Water, a wooden chapel built on a bridge over the stream
• Pieskowa Skała Castle, a beautiful Renaissance castle, and the famous Hercules’ Club rock nearby

Regional buses run from Kraków to Ojców (about an hour). Check current times on jakdojade.pl or Google Maps before you go, because they change with the season.

More guides: Kraków & Małopolska in English.

Łukasz, Niezwykła Małopolska