History
Kętrzyn (German: Rastenburg) was founded near the castle of the Teutonic Knight’s procurator in the 1340s. Initially, the settlement was protected only by light wood and earth fortifications, which failed to protect the inhabitants from the Lithuanian raid of 1344 or 1345. The record of these events mentioned for the first time the gates (“extra portas”), outside which forty-five free Prussians were murdered. Lithuanian troops invaded the Kętrzyn area again in 1346 or 1347. In the 1350s, the settlement was rebuilt and granted a charter in 1357. Fortification work also began, as the charter mentioned two gates, identified with the Sątocze Gate, later known as the High Gate, and the Mill Gate. These were likely still wood and earth fortifications, intended to provide temporary, quickly constructed protection for the townspeople, which were gradually transformed into brick ones (the town was likely planned from the outset as a single, cohesive defensive complex, integrated with the castle and the fortified church of St. George). The first mention of a town wall was recorded in 1374.
During the Thirteen Years’ War, the residents of Kętrzyn sided with the Prussian Confederation and quickly captured the Kętrzyn castle. In the first phase of the war, Kętrzyn, alongside Königsberg and Sępopol, formed the core of the regional opposition to the Teutonic Order, possessing the greatest social and economic potential among the smaller surrounding towns. The capture of Knipawa and the castles in Reszel and Szestno by Teutonic Knights in 1455 significantly worsened Kętrzyn’s military situation, prompting the townspeople to burn the outskirts themselves to facilitate the town’s defense against the forces of Elbląg Commander Heinrich Reuss von Plauen. The lack of sufficient military support from the Polish king and the Prussian Confederation led Kętrzyn’s townspeople to consider joining the Grand Master in the beginning of 1460s. Ultimately, the fall of Sępopol and the amnesty promised by the Grand Master led to the town’s surrender in 1461. Kętrzyn remained within the borders of the Teutonic Order, and its fortifications remained untouched by military action until the end of the Middle Ages.
During the Polish-Swedish war of 1628, Kętrzyn was captured by a detachment of Polish troops under the command of Colonel Jakub Butler. Soldiers entered the town through the Water Gate near St. George’s Church, as a result of the betrayal of one of the local shoemakers. Several townspeople died during the fighting, but most likely on the streets, not on the fortifications. After taking the town, the soldiers began plundering houses and, the following year, forced the inhabitants to build earth ramparts and entrenchments, so they must have deemed the medieval fortifications insufficient. The troops left the town without fighting, before the end of 1629.
Kętrzyn maintained its fortifications for a long time, despite the loss of their military significance. In addition to their military function, they aided in the collection of customs duties on goods brought into the town. Their ability to protect the town from outsiders was also important, especially when epidemics occurred in Prussia. In 1646 and 1648, the walls at the Mill Gate and the brick bridge in front of the High Gate were repaired. In 1653, the roof coverings on the porches running along the top of the walls were renewed, and the drawbridge over the moat in front of the Mill Gate was repaired. In 1698, a breach in the walls was patched with a palisade, and in 1700, the tower and a large section of the wall near the High Gate, which had collapsed the previous year, were rebuilt. Thanks to this care, the town was effectively protected from the plague epidemic that wreaked havoc between 1708 and 1711 (only three people died in Kętrzyn during this period).
The end of the Kętrzyn town fortifications came in the second half of the 18th century. A great fire in 1761 destroyed the wooden elements of the fortifications and initiated the demolition of the defensive walls, which had become a source of free building material for the devastated town. Both town gates were slightened in 1819, likely to improve communication. Demolition work continued into the second half of the 19th century, including the demolition of a section of the wall near the former High Gate in 1868, to better connect the town with the suburbs. The final demolitions were carried out in 1913, when a section of the former defensive wall was removed and the Old Town area was connected to the new Moltke Street (later Daszyńskiego Street).
Architecture
The town was founded on a low hill on the right bank of the Guber River, on the northern side of its bed, which flowed through the valley in an east-west direction. To the northeast, Upper Lake was close to the town, while to the east, in the early 14th century, a forest called Kirne stretched, forming part of the eastern border of the Barts’ tribal territory. The town’s defensive wall was built on an irregular quadrangle, slightly elongated east-west, encompassing an area of approximately 4 hectares. In the southwest corner, protected by the highest escarpments, the church of St. George, connected to the town fortifications, served as a defensive structure. In the southeast corner, a Teutonic castle was located, integrated with the Kętrzyn fortifications, but with its own defensive wall facing the town. A mill canal, dug from the riverbed and spilling into a pond on the southeast side, adjoined both the castle and the southern section of the town fortifications. This pond was connected to the Upper Lake by another canal, providing additional protection on the eastern side of the town.
The town wall was constructed of bricks laid in a Flemish bond, also using zendrówka brick, laid on a stone plinth 1.2 to 1.7 meters wide. It is said to have reached a height of up to 10 meters. Later, at least in some sections, it was topped with a roof over the defenders’ wall-walk, but originally it likely had only a crenellated parapet with an unroofed wall-walk. Judging by iconographic records, the battlements were pierced with arrowslits. The perimeter was reinforced with approximately 13 towers, the exact location of which is unknown. It is known that they were certainly located in the northeast and northwest corners, and two were located near St. George’s church. There was also at least one bartizan on the wall there. The towers were quadrangular and cylindrical. The outer defensive zone was a moat, partially cut through natural ravines.
Two main gates led into the Kętrzyn: High Gate (also known as Königsberg Gate) and Mill Gate. The High Gate was built in the western part of the northern section of the fortifications, on the axis of the market square. In front of it, the Peasant Suburb with St. Catherine’s church developed in the Middle Ages, taking the form of an oval village from which routes branched off to Sątoczno, Barciany and Reszel. The Mill Gate was located on the southeast side, close to the Teutonic Castle and the watermill from which it was named. It was protected both by the floodplains and the castle’s proximity. In front of it, on both sides of the river, a suburb called Wola Zamkowa developed, containing a chapel and a hospital of the Holy Spirit. Additionally, on the southern side, near St. George’s church, a smaller Water Gate operated, facilitating communication with the Guber River. This was also the route to the mill pond, which, among other things, served as a source of water for extinguishing frequent fires.
Both main gates were housed in quadrangular towers with passages on the ground floor. It were likely topped with Gothic gables on the front and town sides. The entrance to the High Gate was additionally protected by a rather wide zwinger, created between the main wall and a second, lower wall with an additional foregate. The zwinger wall may have been reinforced at the corners by two cylindrical towers and another flanking the outer gate. The High Gate’s defensive system was likely dictated by the weak defensive qualities of the terrain, which was relatively flat on the north side and, with the exception of the moat, devoid of water obstacles.
Current state
To this day, the best preserved fragment of the town wall are at the back of the church of St. George, in the north-west part of the town and on the north-east side of the former perimeter, where the rebuilt corner tower is visible. Unfortunately, the wall has not survived to its full height, and has been heavily rebuilt in many places.
bibliography:
Atlas historyczny miast polskich, tom II Mazury, red. R.Czaja, R.Golba, zeszyt 4 Kętrzyn, Toruń 2019.
Czubiel L., Domagała T., Zabytkowe ośrodki miejskie Warmii i Mazur, Olsztyn 1969.
Herrmann C., Mittelalterliche Architektur im Preussenland, Petersberg 2007.
Rzempołuch A., Przewodnik po zabytkach sztuki dawnych Prus Wschodnich, Olsztyn 1992.