he largest cities in Poland can be proud of their dragons. Cracow has the Wawelski Dragon, which terrorized the city until a clever shoemaker fed him with a sheep stuffed with sulphur. Warsaw meanwhile has got a Basilisk, which killed with his sight and got lost having looked at himself in a mirror. The Wroclaw's dragon was however the largest one, the legend says, that it was bigger than trees in the forest. It was called Strachota, name that comes from “starch” - panic fear caused in the neighboring villagers, from who he kidnapped the cattle, and sometimes even daughters. The forest, in which it lived was named after his name Starachowicki.

It was a miraculous, old forest, which exists nowadays, though strongly stumped during the later extension of the settlement which is now a housing estate — Strachocin. In it's depth beat a miraculous spring of bright water, which gave to the one who drank it superhuman powers. It didn't matter, since the neighboring occupants feared even to approach the forest! One day a young, not too sharp maybe, but desiring adventures lad named Conrad came in those areas. Having heard about the dragon he fancied to fight it and briskly moved into the forest. "Oh, stupid, stupid" spoke the villagers, who did not expect to see him again. He was walking for a very long time, until very tired he ran into a small spring. By coincidence this was the odd magical spring, which water gave superhuman powers. Conrad sat down near it, he quenched his thirst, he produced a chunk of bread with pork fat, which the occupants of the settlement gave him on the road and he began to eat. The appetizing scent lured quickly the dragon, which thrown itself on the boy. The fight was very long, however the heavily wounded monster eventually gave up and ran away deeply in the forest. Since then it had feared to get nearer to human households to steal the cattle as it used to do and as it was more and more hungry, it ate a pile of poisonous mushrooms and died. The dead body of the dragon was absorbed by the swamps.

Conrad came back to the village victoriously and he was proclaimed a hero. Quickly he made a career at the court of the Silesian Duke Boleslaw Rogatka, who announced him a knight and bestowed with the saved settlement Strachocin. Conrad, from now on known as Conrad "Draco" Strachota, became old and brought up four beautiful daughters and a brave son, who inherited after him the forest and the settlement around the year 1325. One of the descendants of Conrad, Henry Strachota "da Silva" (from the Forest), was one of the most famous Silesian knights, but this is a different story.

As time went by the castle turned into a powder, however the forest still exists and supposedly the magical spring, which gives superhuman powers still beats in it. I will add that the spring is situated somewhere near the actual Smocza street (Dragon street), named so from a filed, which lied there earlier near the Smocza Well. We recommend the searches of the spring of ultimate power in particular to the teams arriving to Wroclaw on Euro 2012, but also the wanderers in thirst of quiet and the unusual atmosphere of the aged forest. Strachowice forest is particularly beautiful in May and on the beginning of June, when it is covered with thousands of violets and lilies. There is an annual feast of the Stracha dragon near the forest. How you can see, the story invented by heraldics, supposed to add to the clan of Strachotas a bit of rank and glory, entered for good to the canon of Wroclaw's legends and let the city to boast with it's own dragon.

Public transport: bus 115.