For several centuries, the lives and future of Trnava citizens depended on the town’s fortifications. Thanks to its four features – age, material, length, and the extent of its preservation - it is a unique sight within Slovakia, and at the same time it ranks among the most significant sights of its kind within Central Europe. One of the oldest Slovak fortifications, it originates in the 13th century when it was formed by 35 square towers connected by a wood-earth rampart. Later, during the following one hundred years, the rampart was replaced by a brick wall, 10 m high and 2 m thick. While the walls of other medieval towns were built from stone, brick, the traditional material of the region was used to build the Trnava fortifications. With the fortifications of a rectangular ground plan delineating an area of 56 ha, at the time of its origin Trnava ranked among the largest towns within Central Europe. Its perimeter reached a length of around 3 kilometres, of which almost two thirds have been preserved up to this day. From the outer side, the fortifications were surrounded by a moat which at times of danger was filled with water from a pond lying north out of the town. The town was accessible through four tower gates - two in the northern part, and two in the southern part of the town. Later, smaller gates for pedestrians – so called wicket gates – were added, one on the eastern and two on the western side of the town. In the 19th century, when the town walls were no longer necessary for protection purposes due to changes in army techniques and battle, the main gates and some parts of the town walls were torn down. Also, the town moats were deconstructed, with the sections on the southern and northern sides filled in, and the moat on the western side was turned into a park. From the gates, only a small sally-port near the southwest corner, and the partially reconstructed gate on the eastern side behind the parish church, were preserved. The wicket gate on the western side near the Franciscan church was replaced with Bernolákova gate in 1937.

 

Contact