The White Lady of Smiřice

Every midnight the apparition of a White Lady appeared in the four-winged Baroque chateau with arcades. Surrounded by a glow of light, she appeared on the ground floor behind the portal and, like a caring housekeeper, walked through every room. She wore a long, flowing white dress, with a thick white veil covering her head. It was generally believed that she belonged to the ill-fated Smiřický family of Smiřice. She supposedly finds no peace in her grave because during her life she neglected the beautiful and profitable estate. What she neglected in life she must put right after death. She walks through every part of the chateau, searching for any danger that might threaten it. Many officials living here are said to have tried to block the White Lady’s path and stop her ghostly rounds, but each time such terror seized them that they stood as if frozen. People also believed that the White Lady would protect the chateau and its occupants from any danger threatening Smiřice.