In Search of St Lucy’s Day: Witch Tales, Magic and Common Sense – Sustainable Winter Getaways

Tokaj-Hegyalja (the historic wine region of Tokaj) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site: the combination of land use, viticulture, and settlements represents a heritage that inherently speaks to long-term thinking.

Tarcal: a sentence that has become a tourism story

Tarcal is tied to a local narrative featuring an iconic medieval decree by King Coloman the Bookish: his famous proclamation (“about witches… since such creatures do not exist…”) is associated with the settlement. This “witches do not exist” message has now become a creative, light-hearted yet historically rooted reference point in Tarcal's tourism communication.

From a sustainability perspective, Tarcal tells its story “well”: not by overemphasising mysticism, but through a clever duality where frightening beliefs are framed by common sense, local history, and cultural landscapes. This also helps visitors come not for “witch hunts” but to interpret, learn, and connect.

Bodrogkeresztúr: the 'Prison' site of the Keresztúri Kincsestár and witch stories

In Bodrogkeresztúr, one of the strongest elements of the Keresztúri Kincsestár (Treasure Chest of Keresztúr) is the storytelling linked to the 'Prison' site. Local accounts highlight that the village's daily life was not only marked by “earthly” crimes but also by “mystical, underworld tales.” Numerous stories emerged about the village's witches, curses, milk spoiling, and even revelations tied to St. Lucy's chair.

Here, St. Lucy's Day is not abstract folklore but part of the local community's microhistory: stories about “how witches were identified” reveal how a community's memory, fears, and humour operate simultaneously. From a sustainable tourism perspective, this is a typical “small-scale, high-value” experience: it requires minimal infrastructure yet delivers significant impact, relying on local content creation.

In Ribe, Denmark, the HEX! Museum of Witch Hunt explores the social mechanisms of 16th–17th century witch hunts: how fear turns into suspicion, suspicion into accusation, and accusation into irreversible consequences. The museum's presentation highlights that Ribe was a key centre for Danish witch trials, and the streets around the museum were the backdrop to Denmark's most famous case, the trial of Maren Spliids, who was burned as a witch in 1641.

As a parallel to St. Lucy's Day, this location is particularly powerful: while folklore often recounts “recognition” techniques (like St. Lucy's chair), HEX focuses on what happens when the desire for recognition becomes institutionalised power. The visit is thus not about “thrills” but responsible remembrance and learning.

Sustainability tip: Ribe's historic urban fabric and the museum's focus support slow, pedestrian exploration with minimal impact and high cultural value.

Image: © Sydvestjyske Museer  Photo: Gitte Lindeborg

The story of the Pendle witches (1612) is one of Lancashire's best-known heritage narratives, forming the basis of a route-based visitor experience. Visit Lancashire's guide offers a specific “trail” logic: the tour starts at the Pendle Heritage Centre and follows the paths of the story's characters through the Ribble Valley to Lancaster Castle, where the trial took place.

The Pendle Heritage Centre is not just a “starting point” but a standalone, sustainable attraction: a museum and visitor centre that interprets the Pendle witches' story as local heritage, complementing the visit with gardens, short walks, and a tea room – making it easy to organise into a low-impact, multi-hour “slow experience.”

Sustainability tip: such heritage trails are authentic and responsible when the story is presented not as an “attraction” but as a lesson, guiding visitors towards local providers, institutions, and pedestrian exploration.

Image: https://www.visitlancashire.com/things-to-do/the-lancashire-witches