The English have their Robin Hood, the Swiss-Wilhelm Tell, the Tatra highlanders sing the praises of Janosik and the most famous Beskid highlander is Ondraszek. His memory has survived in folk legends, songs, and works of art and literature. Among those who wrote about him are Gustaw Morcinek and Zofia Kossak and a solemn song about the highland robber, composed by Stanisław Hadyna, belongs to the permanent repertoire of the Ensemble of Song and Dance “Śląsk”.
      In The Museum of Cieszyn Silesia there are two wall paintings, by anonymous artists, which represent the death of the Robber chief. On one of them there is an inscription which says: “Ondraszek, the leader of a large band of robbers, the son of the magistrate in Janowice village that belongs to the Frydek acres, was killed at the age of 34 by his partner and his body was quartered in Frydek in 1715”.
      Thus Ondraszek was a real figure. He was born in 1680 and he was engaged in brigandage for a few years. He turned out to be so audacious that the authorities set a high reward, a hundred florins, for his head. The closest companion of the leader, Juraszek, succumbed to the temptation. He killed his friend with the head of an axe during a drinking-party in an inn. 
      The perpetrator of the murder did not get the promised reward. He was lured to Cieszyn where he was arrested, put in the dungeon of the castle and executed by having his bones broken on a wheel.
      However, the story of Ondraszek’s life in the local tradition is different. Cieszyn people put their own desires and dreams into the stories about him. They made him a hero who “levelled the world” by stealing from the rich and giving to the poor.
      Out of numerous legends about the ringleader of highland robbers, let us report two that are connected with the town on the Olza. 
      Once Ondraszek went to the Cieszyn Fair. At one of the stalls a shrewish fishwife started a row with a gaunt old man.
- What’s the matter? - asked the robber.
- He had the nerve to ask for an egg, even though he hasn’t got a penny to bless himself with – the fishwife rattled.
- But I’ve got money – said Ondraszek and he showed the woman his purse. He bought three eggs, made the old man come up and handed him a mug.
- Let’s break them to see if they’re fresh.
He did what he had said. Every time the content of an egg poured into the tin mug, there was a tap of something hitting the bottom. 
- Golden ducats! – shouted the old man with amazement. I’ve got three ducats in my mug!
- So you have- confirmed Ondraszek. And, turning to the fishwife, he asked: 
- How much would you want for all these eggs from your stall?
The pedlar snatched the mug from the old man’s hand and, having seen golden coins at the bottom, she took another egg from the stall and broke it. But there was no coin there this time. Thus she kept taking eggs, one after another, to the very last one. When she finished, there was a pile of shells lying near by mixed with a huge mess of eggs.
      Fury mixed with shame appeared on the mean woman’s face. She quickly left the market and the witnesses clasped Ondraszek’s hand, congratulating him on his ingenious idea.
      There is another story connected with Cieszyn market. A poor rustic woman met the ringleader of the highland robbers in a forest on the outskirts of Cieszyn. She had never seen him before. 
- Good morning, My Dear, – the ringleader greeted her politely.-Where are you going? 
- To market in Cieszyn. I’m carrying a little bit of what grew in the field to sell and clothe my child. He needs to go to school. 
- And have you heard about Ondraszek?
- Yes, and I’d like to meet him because he helps people such as me.
- Wait a minute.
He took a big reel of woollen cloth, measured from beech to beech and handed it to the woman. Then he added a reel of linen and said:
- Take it and don’t say thank you, but every now and then say prayers for Ondraszek’s soul.

A little later a certain rich woman was passing by.
- What will you say about Ondraszek? – the robber asked, starting a conversation.
- He is a terrible man! Let him perish!
- And where are you going?
- To market in Cieszyn.
He asked her to buy him 20 hobnails that were used in the old times to nail leather to a sole and he paid in advance. And when she came back, he asked:
- You didn’t forget about the hobnails?
- No, I didn’t.
- Good, because I need them. I must count them.
Having said that, he reached for the hobnails. He placed them on a stump, with their sharp ends up, and when they were all (already) lying there, he lifted the woman and seated her on them. She cried with pain and the robber bade her good-bye with the following words: 
- The next time you go past here you might meet Ondraszek again. So... farewell!

      On the northern outskirts of Cieszyn, near the Olza river, there is a nature reserve called Kopce. Within the reserve there is a cave called “Ondraszkowa Dziura”. Some people claim that it used to shelter the ringleader. Others say that Ondraszek’s treasure is hidden there. It is waiting for a good and noble-minded man who will be able to get it only when he finds himself in direst need.