The Petrified Wedding is a rock formation on the western slopes of Medvednica, with an interesting legend about how it came to be.
One of the most popular legends of Zagreb area – even more famous because August Šenoa wrote it down in his “Povjestice” book from 1869, is the legend of the Petrified Wedding, a rock formation in Susedgrad, on the western slopes of Medvednica. The legend had previously been written down in German and published in an Austrian newspaper by count Ivan Sermage of Susedgrad in 1819.
Once upon a time, on the slopes of Medvednica, there lived a miller, his wife, and their only son. They lived happily and lived in abundance. Their son fell in love with a beautiful girl named Janja, who was poor, so he hid it from his parents. One day, when he grew up, his mother told him that he was of marriageable age and he should go look for a wife.
“I am in love, mother, with a beautiful, pale, young girl named Janja,” the son told her.
The mother was furious with her son because he, a rich young man, had fallen in love with a poor girl.
The miller heard what happened and told his wife not to interfere and told his son he could choose whomever he wanted.
Soon came the wedding day. The miller’s wife stayed in their home to prepare a feast for the guests. She was livid.
When the guests came in front of the house, she stood on the doorstep and said:
“I’d rather die from an arrowhead than let my son and Janja get wed!
And everyone on that cliff, you’ll become as a rock stiff.”
A violent storm arose all of a sudden, an arrow flew through the village, turning the entire wedding party – and the village – into stone.Everyone, that is, except the mother. The legend goes that she went crazy and still wanders aimlessly around the world, and people have sworn that, during storms, they saw an old woman hugging the stones, crying out “Love can never be a sin!”
Everyone, that is, except the mother. The legend goes that she went crazy and still wanders aimlessly around the world, and people have sworn that, during storms, they saw an old woman hugging the stones, crying out “Love can never be a sin!”
The peak where the rocks are located is a popular hiking spot, and there’s a mountain lodge called the Petrified Wedding next to it.
You can join the 39th organised hiking trip to the Petrified Wedding peak, traditionally organised on the first Sunday in September, on September 3.
Find out more here.
