The sundial with a skull and the Latin phrase “Memento mori” (Remember that you will die), the stone cross with the inscription “In Crue Salvus” (Salvation in the Cross) and the roof of the shrine, which overlooks Kartuzy and resembles a coffin lid, allow us to imagine the remote past when Carthusians, an order following the strict rule of St. Benedict, led their ascetic lives here.

Kartuzy, the so-called capital of Kashubian Region, also has its own Kashubian Museum, established soon after the war by Franciszek Treder and dedicated to the bygone world of Kashubian material culture. The cultural programs of Kartuzy and its vicinity are as rich and colourful as Kashubian embroidery. Regional ensembles such as “Kaszuby” maintain local folk traditions.

According to a popular Kashubian legend passed from generation to generation, the origins of Kartuzy are associated with … the sin of pride. It is said that a certain pretty maiden from well-of family from Rozcin started to compare her countenance with an image of Our Lady displayed in the chapel of the family mansion. However, the girl’s three attempts to surpass the picture in beauty did not succeed. Full of irritation, she said angrily: Damn it! I must look more beautiful! Having heard this, eager devils did not wait for any further sign of encouragement and kidnapped her so effectively that the only thing left of the vain girl was a slipper found by a shepherd on the edge of Rózcin. On this site Jan, the conceited girl’s brother, decided to erect a monastery to pay for his sister’s sin.

Historians, who do not believe a word of this legend, offer a different version of the origins of Kartuzy, but this is another story…….