Town Walls of Ząbkowice Śląskie

The only surviving section of Ząbkowice Śląskie's old moat is now a pond in the town park, and close by stands the Pigeon Tower, one of the best-preserved parts of the town's fortifications. In the 16th century the town was ringed by two lines of walls – the inner one about 8 m high with towers every 50–60 metres – and two moats. Stretches of wall and towers topped with decorative parapets still stand today and combine easily with a walk to the Leaning Tower.

History: from an earthwork to a double ring

The first defences probably went up with the town in the second half of the 13th century: a small rectangular ring of about 200 × 400 m with four gates around the market square, partly earth-and-timber ramparts, partly rubble stone. In the early 14th century the town grew to the north-east and the Dominican church and friary were brought inside the walls. After repeated sieges in the 15th century, Duke Charles I of Münsterberg (Karol I Podiebradowicz) adapted the fortifications to firearms in 1504–1516: semicircular towers and gunloops were added, the moats were deepened and the towers were topped with decorative parapets. In the 1590s a lower outer ring was built 10 metres in front of the inner wall; to the west, south and north-east ran a moat 20 m wide, with a second, narrower moat between the walls.

The gates and their end

Four gates led into town: the Wrocław, Ziębice and Kłodzko gates and the Lochowa gate, also called the Srebrna Góra or Świdnica gate (recorded in 1364). The oldest and longest-surviving was the Wrocław Gate – according to tradition, a Dominican deacon named Andrzej was martyred on it during the Hussite raid of 1428. During the Thirty Years' War the Kłodzko Gate was lowered on the orders of a Swedish commander to give artillery a clear field of fire. From the mid-18th century the walls lost their purpose: according to the town website the outer ring was pulled down in 1750, the Ziębice Gate in 1816 and the Kłodzko Gate in 1823, and the last remains of the Wrocław Gate were cleared in 1880. In 1806 a road along the old defences by the castle was lined with lime trees, creating the Castle Promenade.

What to see

• The Pigeon Tower (Baszta Gołębia) in the park in the north of the town (near ul. Prusa) – from the time of Charles I, built into the wall and later remodelled; in the 1970s it housed a branch of the Polish tourist society PTTK.
• Towers with decorative parapets in the western part of town.
• The oldest surviving stretch of wall, running from ul. Grunwaldzka to ul. Prusa.
• The pond in the town park – the only recognisable fragment of the old moat.

Tripto tip

The walls are seen from outside, free of charge and at any time. Start in the park with the Pigeon Tower and the pond, follow the wall towards ul. Prusa and finish at the Leaning Tower (34 m tall, leaning 2.14 m, 139 steps) and the castle ruins, which became part of the town's defences in the 16th century. The loop takes about 1.5–2 hours.