Defensive Walls of Pyrzyce

The defensive walls of Pyrzyce were built from the 13th century as part of the town's fortifications. About 2,000 m of wall with towers and two gates has survived, and some sections, mainly in the north, were restored after the war. A walk along the walls shows several different towers in one area.

What the walls consist of

The walls from the second half of the 13th century were raised in the 15th century to 7-9 m and extended with barbicans, towers and watch turrets. After 1650 some of the watch turrets were converted into houses for the poor. The Ice Tower, the Monks' Tower (a ruin), the Drunkards' Tower, the Gunpowder Tower and the Owl Tower have survived, as have the Bańska Gate and the Szczecin Gate (a ruin). The 13th-century ramparts that surrounded the town over a length of 2,250 m were turned in 1830-1845 into a promenade.

Towers and gates

• Ice Tower: the four lower storeys from the first half of the 15th century, the upper ones from the second half of the 16th century, a cylinder 530 cm in diameter with crenellation; it was a prison and an ice store.
• Drunkards' Tower: rectangular, from the end of the 15th century, with an oriel on the north elevation; formerly a prison.
• Owl Tower: created by extending a semicircular watch turret, in the 19th century it served as a viewing tower.
• Bańska Gate: from 1260-1270, destroyed in 1945, partly reconstructed after the war.
• Szczecin Gate: the former main town gate from the 14th century; destroyed in 1945 down to the first storey, today a ruin.

Nearby

From the walls it is 400 m to the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and 500 m to the Chapel of the Holy Spirit. A further 200 m on stands the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows.

Practical information

• The walls surround the Old Town layout of Pyrzyce; the individual towers are viewed from the outside on a walk around the town.
• Information boards stand by the Ice, Drunkards' and Owl towers.