Městské opevnění (Dvůr Králové) Town walls

The town fortification in Dvoře Králové nad Labem, Trutnov district, represents a partially preserved medieval wall from the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries. This fortification system consisted of a wall with a series of towers, moat and an outer vall. The most significant element of today's view is the Shingler Tower. This monument is protected as a cultural monument.

The city of the Court of Kings appeared in the 13th century, and the walls were probably founded before the Hussite wars or at the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries. At the same time with them or shortly before them was the church of St. John the Baptist, which illustrates the time of their creation. Originally there was a Geophane residence or a hypothetical royal castle.

The historical core of the city has an oval plan of 7,5 hectares and is extended in the north by a prolapse with the church of St. John the Baptist. The natural borders are a slope descending towards the Elbe in the west and the Harta creek in the east. The wall, about 140 centimetres thick and approximately seven metres high, was surrounded by a battleship with bulletproof roofs and brick guns. The inner gallery here was made up of stone slabs. On most of the district of the city the wall lacked a gallery and ended only with a counter roof with a gutter ledge.

The defence was amplified by the towers that were located on the east and west sides at a distance of 12 to 15 meters. They were missing in the north because of a steep slope. They mostly had a segment plan with an external diameter of about five metres, they were open inside and they were only used for active defence on the top floor. Some had a square plan.

Four gates led to the city: Upper, Lower, Hradištská and Shindeláří, with a smaller fort. Most of the gates were equipped with a cylindrical tower, except for the Upper Gate, which was in prism form. According to the 18th century plan, there was a barbadian outside the Hradiště Gate.

The only preserved branch tower is a round Shindler tower with a diameter of seven metres and a height of 20 metres. The entrance to it was led by a semi-circular portal at the level of the first floor, while access to the ground floor was only possible through a hole in the ceiling. The interior consisted of five floors with beam ceilings and wooden staircases. Defensive firing sites were 28 to 35 centimeters wide, 65 to 70 centimeters on the fourth floor. The tower originally had a four-sided brick tent roof with an open gallery, a brick parapet wall and two gargoyles.

In 1450, the fire hit the city, leading to repairs of the wooden structures of the tower. This intervention confirms the dendrochronological dating from 1451 to 1462. The whole system was supplemented by approximately 20 meters wide moat, partly filled with water from slopes north of the city. The moat was only missing from the church on the west side because of steep terrain.

Today, more complete sections of the walls are preserved on the west side behind houses in Palacky Street and southeast of Shindelářská Gate, where the remains of the ditch are visible. The upper gate fragment can be seen on Husova Street.

The remains of the city fortification are valuable evidence of medieval urbanization and defence architecture in the region. Visiting these fragments allows a better understanding of the original layout and strategic importance of the city.