German Gate in Byczyna

The German Gate, Byczyna's western gate tower, is the first thing you see when you enter the old town from national road 11. The lower part of the tower is built of rubble stone, the upper part of brick, and its name comes from the fact that it faced German territory. Together with the Polish Tower and Piaskowa Tower it belongs to a ring of walls 912.5 m long.

History and architecture

The municipality dates the tower to the 15th century, and the heritage register dates the whole circuit to the 15th/16th century. Research in 2009–2010, however, pushed the beginnings of Byczyna's fortifications back to the mid-13th century, dating the brick walls and the full circuit around the old town to the mid-14th century. The tower has a roughly square plan, a stone lower storey and a brick upper section with narrow arrow slits. The pointed-arch passage at the bottom was only cut through in the 19th century, when the walls lost their defensive role – at that time the barbicans in front of the gate towers were also demolished.

Curiosities: a roof from the town seal

Today the tower has a makeshift roof. In the past, like the town's other towers, it had a pyramid roof with small turrets – the kind shown on Byczyna's old seals. The two gates formed a pair: the German one to the west and the Polish one to the east, facing the greater part of Polish lands. Beneath Byczyna's walls, on 24 January 1588, Hetman Jan Zamoyski defeated the army of Archduke Maximilian Habsburg, who took refuge in the walled town.

Tripto tips

• The tower is seen from outside, from public space; the municipality gives no information about visiting the interior. Through the gate you can see the Baroque Holy Trinity Church and beyond it the market square with the town hall.
• For a viewing tower, head to the other side of town: the Polish Tower is open from May to October (Tue–Fri 10:00–17:00, Sat–Sun 12:00–17:00; ticket PLN 10, PLN 18 with the Tradition Room – as of October 2026).
• The best route is from the German Gate along the walls to the Polish Tower and back through the market square – about an hour.