Městské opevnění ve Vysokém Mýtě Town walls

Welcome to the High Myth, a city that keeps fascinating stories from the depths of our history. Right now, you're standing in front of a place that is not just an ordinary wall, but a real monument to human efforts, strategic thinking and the need for security. In front of you stands the city fortifications, which belong to the best preserved and most integrated medieval walls in all Czech countries. Stop for a moment, take a breath and feel the atmosphere of this place. Imagine how the landscape around you changed centuries ago and how these walls formed an impenetrable boundary between the safe interior of the city and the unknown world of outer space. What you see is not just a pile of rocks, but a silent witness of centuries who survived wars, fires, and times.

Now let's go back in time together to make it clear why these walls are here and how they were created. It all began in the mid-1930s, in the 1970s. That's when the founder of the city, the mighty king of Přemysl Otakar the Second, was here. The king had a clear vision and designed the High Myto as a fortified centre, which was to serve not only as an administrative hub, but above all as a safe harbor. The construction of the first walls in the pre-thought period began in the year two hundred and sixty-five. It wasn't just aesthetics at the time, it was a question of survival. The city had to be able to resist attacks and protect its citizens and commercial goods. King Premysl Otakar The second was an experienced strategy and knew that the construction of such a large system required huge resources and speed. To speed up the construction of strong walls with parks, he came up with a very interesting solution. He freed the townspeople for three years from paying taxes. This motivation obviously worked because the city started to enrich quickly and its defense system began to take its final form.

Now that you know the history of creation, pay attention to the very architecture that surrounds you. Look carefully at the material from which the walls are built. The dominance here is opaka, a specific stone that gives fortification its characteristic appearance and strength. Notice the upper parts of the wall where the cimbura is located. These dental ends of the walls were not only an ornament, but they served as cover for the shooters who could track the enemy from the safety of the walls and attack it. If you look around, you'll also see the polo towers. Their shape was not random, because it allowed a better view of the surroundings and eliminated blind spots where the enemy could sneak in.

A key element that you should not miss is the system of a deep, surrounded ditch. Imagine what an obstacle the attackers had to overcome before they even got to the main wall. This moat was supplemented by a park wall, which was essentially a lower outer wall, which formed the first line of defense. The whole complex created a layered system of protection that made the city a real fortress. Feel this mass and imagine how much work and how many hands have been cast into carrying these heavy stones and their precise composition.

When we move on in time, we run into a period where the walls required care and repairs. Maintaining such an extensive work was extremely costly. An interesting story takes us to a thousand six hundred and two. At that time, the holding of livestock markets was allowed, which was a very lucrative activity at that time. The money collected from these markets did not go to the royal treasury, but was earmarked directly to finance the repairs of the walls. It is fascinating to see how closely the city's economy has been linked to its security in the past. Without the cattle trade, the walls could start to crumble at that time. Another major repair took place in the year one thousand six hundred seventeen and lasted until one thousand six hundred eighteen. It was a period of tension and uncertainty when it was necessary to have a defense system in perfect condition. In connection with this time and with the development of the city, the name of Rudolf the Second appears in history, who did not build the walls directly, but his era left a mark in the overall prestige and flowering of the cities in the region.

Now I want to impress you with one interesting thing that may not be visible at first sight, but it gives us an understanding of the uniqueness of this place. Městské opevnění ve Vysokém Mýtě is now considered one of the best preserved and most integrated medieval city walls in the whole Czech Republic. Most cities over the centuries have either demolished their walls to gain more space for building houses, or let them destroy wars. But here we can see the system almost in its original logic. It's like an open book on medieval military engineering.

The end of the era of absolute integrity of fortification came in the year one thousand eight hundred forty-four. That was the moment when the times changed, the defensive walls lost their primary military significance thanks to more modern weapons and the city began to view its walls differently. Yet they remained preserved for us so that we could stand in the same place today as the guards at the time and feel the same cold stone under our fingers.

Now try to imagine what it must have been like to have two hundred and sixty-five of you in the year of a thousand and sixty-five been one of the first inhabitants to see these walls grow out of the country. The feeling of security they brought you must have been unimaginable. And at the same time, a sense of pride for living in the city that King Přemysl Otakar the Second built as a strategic center.

Now I encourage you to take your own path along these walls. Go through their perimeter, touch the epistle and examine the details we discussed. Notice how the walls adapt to the terrain and how dominant they influence the space around them. Let yourself be guided by your curiosity and explore every corner of this historic system.

Thank you for coming through the short history of the city fortification in the High Myth. I hope that this view of the past has helped you to see better the beauty and importance of this unique place. I wish you a pleasant continued tour of the city and many other discoveries. Goodbye.