The Polynitsa Tavern
According to local Zemblan belief, Polynitsa haunted the vicinity of Bear Cliff and Poplar Beach. For this reason, in autumn, when the great moonfish and veksha-fish came inshore, fishermen with spears and little lanterns gave the place a wide berth. They said a rusalka’s silvery tail might appear in the dark water among the snags and fallen trees.
In cold winters, when the Children’s Sea froze, people saw a silvery, serpent-like rusalka climb through a gap in the ice. Sometimes her white face, with its blue blush, could be seen in a black ice-hole. Others said that this larva, Polushta, travelled up underground rivers from the depths of the earth to mourn at the place of her death.
The tavern on the landing stage was named ‘Polynitsa’ after the local legend.
In the 890s a new gun battery was built on Bear Cliff and named the Tishina Battery in memory of Polunitsa the Silence, who had listened to the poet in love from that cliff.
