About Basia and Rudnicki
Sensational love story
There was no such thing in Kozi Gród before or later! Great love and daring kidnapping at Rynek 12 have been forever in Lublin’s tradition.
It was 1602. At that time, the office of the Mayor of Lublin was held by Sebastian Konopnica, one of the wealthiest inhabitants of the city. Its property is evidenced by the richly decorated tenement house at 12 Rynek, considered by many to be the most beautiful. It is not difficult to overlook it due to the blue facade. But let’s go back to the beginning of the 17th century. Well, Sebastian Konopnica married Katarzyna Kretkówna, with whom he had three children – sons Andrzej and Aleksander, as well as a daughter Basia. And this daughter, Basia, became a source of many troubles for the Mayor.
She was beautiful, and the fame of her beauty stretched far beyond the city. It was easy to find a wealthy, well-to-do husband for her. But Basia was also teasing and used to follow her heart, not the needs of her father’s wallet. And the father was real miser. The girl fell in love with Janek Rudnicki, a noble but poor, with a small plot of land in Rudnik.
Initially, Konopnica did not notice what was happening. He still had to renovate the tenement house after a fire in 1575 and had a fierce dispute with the Brigid nuns over the construction of waterworks in their area. Soon, however, the secret was revealed. With a request and a threat, the father tried to persuade Basia from an uninteresting marriage and decided to marry her off for Hanus, the son of a wealthy Lemka, a boy of dubious beauty and manners.
The date of engagement was set, but Basia so denied that she would not go out to the guests and her future husband that the feast had to be moved to the Epiphany. She wanted to meet her beloved once more, before marrying Hanus. During the meeting, Janek told her mysterious words: “In the day of Epiphany, go to church and dress warmly”. Basieńka did not understand what he meant, but she did what he said. On January 6, she appeared in the church wearing a sheepskin coat. Janek also appeared. He ran to Basia, who was leaving the temple with her mother and took her on his sleigh. Together they drove off in an unknown direction.
Enraged, Konopnica looked in vain for his daughter at the Rudnik estate. After some time, he received a letter that Basia and Janek settled in Dublany, on the Lviv route, where they got married and had many children. Konopnica disinherited his daughter, but she enjoyed a long and happy life.
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