According to the legend, the mountain was created by the devil. It was one of the task, which he got from the Jan Twardowski - legendary Polish noble hero, which trick the devil and goes to the moon. (We will write about him in the future). Devil had also to do a whip from the sand, create a big cudgel and .. replace Twardowski for a year in his 'maritial duties' (Twardowski had an awfull wife). The devil made a whip, cudgel is standing till now but... he gave up, when he had to be with Twarowski's wife ;-)
Author:MarW under Creative Commons Uznanie autorstwa – Na tych samych warunkach 3.0
Scientists disagre with the legend about origins of Cudgel of Herkules . According to them, it was the result of the different resitance of rock layers to erosion. But no one believes them ;-)
Maczuga Herkulesa were in the past called also Cudgel of the Krak, Falcon Rock, Devil's Rock or Twardowski's Rock.
Twardowski's Rock - it's because the legend of Jan Twardowski
Devil's Rock - it's also result of the legends about Twardowski
Cudgel of the Krak - name is after legendary Polish king Krak (Kracow city is named after him) which kill the dragon with the great stone cudgel
Falcon Rock - name is taken from another legend-about unjustly sentenced yeoman. The yeoman was injured and could not work for his lord, but the lord was cruel and put peasant in the prision (because he wasn't working). Yeman beg his lord to set him free and the lord said, that he will let him go, when he bring falcon's egg from the Cudgel of the Krak. It was impossible and a yeoman was very sad because of this ultimatum. In the night, 12 falcons flew by the window to the peasant's prision cell and take him to the top of the mountain so he could take one of their egg. Than he returned to the lord and lord made him free.
Maczuga Herkulesa has 25 meters. It is placed in Prądnik Valley on the area of Ojców National Park where several others limestone modocks such as Cudgel of Hercules can be found. In park there are also 400 caves. The place is definitly worth to see and we will write about the park in the future.