The Rosenbergs’ White Lady
The Rosenbergs’ White Lady carries keys and watches over children. Her expression and gloves can announce good fortune or disaster before the household knows what is coming.
The account
At the Rosenberg castles, a woman in white is expected to know the family’s news before anyone else. The tradition identifies her as Perchta of Rosenberg. She walks through rooms with keys at her waist; a smile promises happiness, while black gloves and a grave expression foretell trouble. In one story she comes to soothe the infant Petr Vok when the nurses sleep. A new nurse, unfamiliar with the family ghost, challenges the stranger holding the baby. Offended, the White Lady withdraws, disappearing through a wall and leaving the living to look after their own.
Following the trail
Český Krumlov’s castle information site preserves these stories under the heading Tales of the White Lady and connects them with Perchta, who died in 1476. Its account is a folklore retelling, including reported dialogue and a treasure motif; those elements should not be mistaken for transcripts of fifteenth-century events.
Why it stays with us
The keys are a wonderful detail. This ghost belongs to the household rather than breaking into it. The nurse’s understandable alarm turns the usual haunting question around: who actually has permission to be here?