How friderik survived in the dungeon tower
Friderik II, the son of the mighty Count Herman II, one night murdered his first and legitimate wife Elizabeth of Frankopan and secretly married Veronika Deseniška against his father's will. His father punished them by having Veronika drowned and locking up Friderik in the main tower. According to the legend, Friderik was spared a certain death by a squire who dug an underground passage to bring him food. A century ago, this passage is said to have been clearly visible. It was wide enough for an adult man to crawl through it.
Abduction of Marjanca Dolinar
On the way from Celje to Tremerje, one cannot help but spot a place where a small brook meets the Savinja River. Walking up this brook, we reach Gornja Košnica. This is where a wealthy farmer Dolinar had his house. He also had a lovely daughter Marjanca. She radiated youth and health. Happy was the life of the Dolinar family, until their fortunes turned.
Marjanca was herding cows in the meadows and singing merry songs that echoed around the valley. Her gentle voice would cheer up even the saddest of hearts; indeed, her singing was very much akin to the singing of the forest fairies.
One day, Count Ulrik of Celje rode along that path and heard the girl's singing. When he saw her face, lust got the better of him. He ordered his soldiers to abduct the girl and bring her to his castle. When Marjanca's father learned about this, he went to the castle and asked the count to let his daughter go. The count initially refused to admit he had abducted her. When Dolinar offer all his property in exchange for his child, the Count finally said: "Your Marjanca is sound asleep. Look for her at the Holy Ghost!" The unfortunate father realized his daughter had died, violently, dishonoured! In his overwhelming grief, the father uttered an ominous curse: "Damned be the castle that you live in! May it be a place where only owls live!"
As faith would have it, Dolinar's curse came true.
Of the white monster
One evening peasant Miha was returning home. It was pitch-dark when he reached the Savinja River. Quite exhausted, he reached the road fork leading to the castle, when he suddenly saw a large white monster in front of him, spewing fire and stinking of sulphur. Although shuddering with fear, je gathered his courage and asked: "What do you want here? I am an honest man on my way home." The monster replied: "I am a moth bringing demise to the Castle of Celje and its lords. Never again will Ulrik see his castle. You shall not see it in one piece either!" Having said that, the moth disappeared and the peasant fainted.
Miha was awaited at home in vain. The men took the torches and went to look for him. When they reached the first crossroads, they saw the castle glowing in a peculiar flame. It felt as though the castle is floating over their heads. This was a frightening feeling and they broke up and ran back home. That night, they were restless in their sleep. When they woke up the next morning, the castle lay in ruins. Their curiosity was quenched by Miha who returned to the village, out of breath, and started telling them what he saw.
Of the black raven
Before Count Ulrik went to battle, his wife saw a black raven. She warned the Count: "Don't leave home, I saw a black raven; this is a bad omen!" But Ulrik ignored her and went anyway.
During the battle in Belgrade, he saw the same raven that his wife had seen. As he was watching it, one of the foes stabbed him. Thus came the unfortunate end of Count Ulrik.
Of the nobleman with the glowing horseshoe
Peasant Matevž went home from the town one afternoon. He was rushing to get home before dark. As he walked along the road, he was joined by a finely dressed gentleman. "Good evening," the peasant greeted. The nobleman responded by no more than a murmur. When they reached the first crossing, the stranger's face turned pale. The peasant looked at him and thought he must have known the man.
How surprised he was when he looked back and saw that the nobleman is heaving a waggon. Then suddenly, the peasant saw a glowing horseshoe right above the man's head. Stupefied, he screamed: "For God's sake, my Liege, how did you get here?" The moment he said that, the lord disappeared.
The nobleman was in fact a deceased count. Peasant Matevž, whose hair turned completely grey that day, later said that the count must be in hell, coming to Earth to suffer and for penance.
On the inscription in pečovnik
Somewhere in Pečovnik there is a rock with a stone plaque carrying a mysterious inscription. The rock is difficult to find, even harder to reach and reading the inscription is even more testing. The closer one gets, the more rocks fall down. Nobody has succeeded in reaching and reading the inscription to this day.
Yet the people believe that someday there will be a man who will make it to the rock and read the inscription. And when that happens, the mighty dynasty of the Counts of Celje will rise again.
