Staletá Praha 37, 2/2021, 90-139 | DOI: 10.56112/sp.2021.2.03

The Western Side of the 13th Century Fortifications of Prague Royal City in today's Malá Strana in the Perspective of Archaeological Research
Die westliche Seite der Befestigung der königlichen Stadt aus dem 13. Jahrhundert in der Prager Kleinseite den erkenntnissen der archäologischen Forschung gemäss

Jarmila Čiháková, Martin Müller

Národní památkový ústav, územní odborné pracoviště v Praze, Na Perštýně 356/12, CZ-110 00 Praha 1

After the fortification of Prague Old Town on the right Vltava bank was completed in 1230s-1250s, Ottokar II of Bohemia issued in 1257 the establishment of a medieval legal city in the area below Prague Castle. Fortifying building activities could evenly follow the Old Town fortification construction. The area of the early Gothic town corresponds with the historical centre of today's Malá Strana district. With the later expansion of the city, the fortifications lost their significance and disappeared. Its fractional remains are very rarely revealed by building history surveys and archaeological excavations during the reconstruction of houses in the Prague Heritage Reserve area. Comprehensive knowledge of the profile and appearance of the 1278 fortification segment was obtained for the first time during the rescue archaeological excavation on the house plot no. 192/III in Thunovská Street on the west side of the medieval town in 2011-2018. Presented text offers the primary publication of the interpretations based on the author's original documentation. Emphasis is placed not only on the description of uniquely preserved individual components of the fortification - rampart, tower, Zwinger, Zwinger wall, moat, bridge over the moat - but also on the technological procedures in their construction. In great detail, the authors documented especially parts of the stone lined ditch, destined to demolition. Permission to liquidate this 13th century fortification appears bizarre in 21st century Central Europe.

Keywords: Prague - Malá Strana - 13th century - fortification - stone lined ditch - tower - gate - rampart - Zwinger - road - cubitus - construction technology

Grants and funding:

Příspěvek vznikl v rámci dílčího cíle I.1 Zpracování a vyhodnocení záchranných archeologických výzkumů NPÚ na vybraných nemovitých kulturních památkách, městských rezervacích, zónách a územích České republiky s dosud nechráněným archeologickým potenciálem výzkumné oblasti VO I. Archeologie financované z institucionální podpory Ministerstva kultury na dlouhodobý koncepční rozvoj (IP DKRVO) a z rozpočtu NPÚ.

Published: December 15, 2021