with the Devil in exchange for magic powers. There’s a number of different interpretations of the story of Pan Twardowski, but the basic idea is that he was a 16th century nobleman from Kraków, who on entering into a deal with Satan tried to outwit him by wording their contract in such a way that his soul could only be taken to Hell from Rome, a city Pan Twardowski had no intention of visiting whatsoever. Our hero soon rose to fame and acquired immense wealth through his influence with the Polish Court, but was finally outwitted by the Devil who abducted him in an inn called Rzym, the Polish name for Rome. Pan Twardowski is alive today, living on the Moon with his sidekick, whom he once turned into a spider. Before his sudden and unexpected departure from the Earth, Pan Twardowski was rumoured to have spent some time in Bydgoszcz, living at Stary Rynek 15. Nowadays known as ‘Pod Zgorzelcem’ (The Inn Under the Fire), the building took its name from an incident in 1560 when Twardowski agreed to help the building’s owner get planning permission for an extension to his pub. But the devilish pact that Twardowski had drawn up with the inn keeper accidentally came into contact with holy water, and as a result burst into a ball of flames. Today Twardowski’s fleeting presence is celebrated by a statue of him found in the upstairs window of the building. At 13:13 and 21:13 daily, a series of cogs and wheels shuffle him outside to the sound of strange music and evil laughter where he takes a bow, waves and goes back inside. One superstition is that if two lovers kiss during this time they’ll be in love for eternity.
