The old Rozafa fortress rises proudly above the wide Buna River and the city of Shkodra. Who laid the first stone in the foundation of this fortress? Not known. Its history is lost in the fog of Illyrian antiquity, among the ancient inhabitants of that time.
The only thing that is known for certain is that it was once owned by the Lyabs, and then by the Ardians - powerful Illyrian tribes. At that time, the entire Adriatic coast on the other side up to the noisy Tergest, present-day Trieste, was Illyrian. Later the Romans came there, then the Slavs, Normans, Venetians, Turks and many other foreign peoples. Over the centuries, the parched hills under the walls of Rozafa and the walls of the fortress themselves were saturated with streams of blood from those who stormed it and those who defended it. Foreigners came and went, but our people stood firmly on this Illyrian land.
A beautiful and at the same time sad legend is connected with the construction of the Rozafa fortress, which has come down to us from our distant antiquity.
This is what this legend says.
... Fog hung over the Buna River and covered everything around. This fog stayed there for three days and three nights. After three days and three nights, a light breeze blew and lifted the fog upward. Took him up to the hills of Valdonousa. There, on the top of the hill, three brothers were working. They were building a fortress. However, the wall they built during the day collapsed at night, and so they were unable to raise it.
A kind old man passed by.
- Let your work continue, brothers!
- May you be rewarded, good old man! But where do you see our work? We build during the day, and at night everything collapses. Can you give us some good advice: what do we need to do to keep the walls standing?
“I know,” the elder answers them, but I would be sinful if I told this to you.
“Put this sin on our heads, since we want the fortress to stand and not collapse.”
The kind old man thought and asked.
- Are you married, brave souls? Do you have wives?
“We are married,” they answer. “And all three of us have wives.” Well, come on, tell me, what do we need to do so that the fortress stands and does not collapse?
“If you want the fortress to stand, take an oath to each other: not to tell your wives anything, not to discuss with them at home what I tell you.” Take that pullet who comes to you tomorrow and brings you lunch and wall it up alive in the wall of the fortress. And then you will see that the wall will rise as it should and will stand forever.
The old man said this and set off on his way, only he was seen.
Eh...! The elder brother broke his word. He told his wife everything, this way and that, and told her not to come tomorrow. And the middle brother did not keep his oath - he told his wife everything. Only the younger brother remained true to his word. He didn’t discuss anything at home, didn’t tell his wife anything.
In the morning, the three brothers quickly got ready and went to work. Hammers strike, stones crush, hearts beat, walls rise...
The sons' mother, who remained at home, knew nothing. So she says to her eldest daughter-in-law:
“My eldest daughter, the masters want bread and water, they want a jug of wine.”
The eldest daughter-in-law answers:
- Oh, mom, I won’t be able to go today, I’m not feeling well.
The mother returns and says to the middle daughter-in-law:
“My middle daughter, the masters want bread and water, they want a jug of wine.”
- Oh, mom, I won’t be able to go today, I’m going to visit my relatives.
The mother of her sons addresses her youngest daughter-in-law:
- My youngest daughter...
The younger daughter-in-law, stamping her foot, asks:
- What do you want, mom?
“The masters want bread and water, they want a jug of wine.”
- Oh, mom, I’m alone, I have a small child. I'm afraid he will want the breast and will cry.
“Go, go, I’ll look after your son myself, I won’t let him cry,” she says to her daughter-in-law.
The youngest daughter-in-law, the sweetest one, gets ready, takes bread and water, takes a jug of wine, kisses her son on both cheeks, leaves the outskirts and descends into the Kazen valley, to the foot of the Voldonese hill. He approaches the place where three craftsmen are working - the husband and his two brothers.
- Let your work flourish, masters!
But what's going on?
The hammers fall and stop breaking stones, and the hearts beat harder and harder. Faces turn pale. When the younger brother saw his wife, he dropped the hammer from his hands and began to lament, turning to the stones and the wall.
His wife asks him.
- What's wrong with you, my husband? Why do you cry out to stones and walls?
The elder brother speaks.
“Apparently you were born on an unlucky day, daughter-in-law.” We promised each other that we would wall you up alive in the wall of the fortress.
- So be it, brother-in-law. But I have a request. When you wall me up in the wall, leave my right eye, right hand, right foot and right chest unwalled. I have a little son. When he starts crying, I will see it with one eye, I will caress him with one hand, I will rock the cradle with one foot, I will put him to one chest. My breasts will be freed from milk, the fortress will stand strong, my son will become brave, will be a king and will rule.
The brothers took and immured their youngest daughter-in-law in the foundation of the fortress. The walls began to rise, become taller and did not collapse as before. The stones around the walls are still wet and covered with moss today, because the mother’s tears for her son continue to flow...
And the son grew up, fought and gained fame.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru