City walls of Nymburk, Gothic fortification walls in Nymburk, Czech Republic.

The City walls of Nymburk are a medieval Gothic fortification built from burnt brick that still encircles portions of the historic center. The structure features multiple towers and gates positioned around the town to control entry and movement.

Construction began around 1275, right after Přemysl Otakar II founded the town, and continued under Wenceslas II at the end of the 13th century. The walls were built of fired brick because the central Elbe region lacked good stone, a technique brought by colonists from the lower Rhine. After the Hussite Wars a second, wider moat and a white opuka rampart wall were added.

The fortification marks how people designed their town to keep it safe during troubled times, and it shaped the way the settlement developed around it. Walking the perimeter today, you can sense how these walls defined the boundary between the town and the surrounding countryside.

To explore the walls, follow the marked paths that run around the town center and are easy to navigate on foot. The walk around the complete circuit takes a moderate amount of time and can be done at a leisurely pace.

The two water moats, Malé Valy and Velké Valy, still carry river water today, fed by the Nymburk weir that holds the Elbe higher than the nearby Mrlina stream. The Velké Valy channel is dammed by the weir of a disused mill by Boleslavská street and has become home to many nutrias.