City walls of Louny, Medieval fortification system in Louny, Czech Republic.
The City walls of Louny are the remains of a medieval fortification built alongside the town's founding after the mid-13th century. Most of the circuit was demolished in the 19th century and the ditches filled; the best-preserved stretch is the early 16th-century outer wall running along the northern side, with bastions and keyhole loopholes. The Žatecká Gate is the barbican of 1500, its inscription dating it to that year.
The walls were built in the 14th century when the town served as a strategic stronghold in the Bohemian kingdom. Over time, sections have been rebuilt or modified, but the core structure preserves the medieval design and purpose.
The two original town gates, Žatecká and Pražská, were both protected by barbicans; only the Žatecká barbican of 1500 survives, while the inner gate tower stood about 90 metres behind it. The bridge between gate and barbican carried rented shops, and in the mid-15th century the town collected rent from two locksmiths with stalls facing each other.
You can walk along the preserved sections of the walls at multiple points throughout the town center. The route is generally accessible on foot, and you will find information panels at key locations describing the construction and layout.
The surviving Žatecká Gate is only the barbican, built in 1500; the actual tower gate with its passage stood about 90 metres further on, at the boundary of houses No. 10 and 11 in Žatecká Street, and was demolished between 1836 and 1845. A stone bridge over the moat linked the two, with shops that the town rented out — in the mid-15th century to two locksmiths whose stalls faced each other.
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