Case file · Folklore / legend
The Rose of Turaida
Maija, the 'Rose of Turaida', was killed in a cave near Turaida castle in Latvia in 1620 by a Polish deserter, Adam Jakubowski, after she tricked him into killing her rather than lose her honour.
1620 CE · 57.18, 24.85 · status: legend
The account
She offered him a scarf she said made the wearer invulnerable and told him to strike; he did. Her betrothed, the gardener Viktor, was at first accused. The story was published in 1848 by Magnus von Wolffeldt, who said he had found the 1620 court records. Her grave under a linden tree is visited by newlyweds.
The sceptical view
The original court protocols have not been traced, so how much is history and how much romantic retelling is uncertain.