Very well-preserved medieval defensive walls, 7 meters high in places, built of broken stone, surround the city in a regular oval of 1,200 meters in length.w. It is thanks to the defensive walls that Paczków is known as the "Polish Carcassonne." In the past, the walls reached 9 meters. Embedded in their course were shell towers, 19 of which have survived to this day (there used to be 24). Their appearance varies - some reach the height of the defensive walls, others clearly surpass them. Many of them have well-preserved numerous shooting holes. In 1429 the walls and towers, due to their poor technical condition, were partially demolished. They were rebuilt in the early 16th century. - At that time the crenellation was reconstructed, and the curtain of the walls was decorated with an arcaded frieze. At the same time, behind the moat, at a distance of about 10 meters, a second external wall 4 meters high was added. This additional fortification was equipped with numerous artillery positions, but did not form a full ring - it probably ran on the northern side, from the Klodzka Tower to the shell tower located between the Wrocław Tower and the Nysa Tower. Repairs and a thorough cleanup of the city's fortifications were carried out in the 19th century. In 1846, the remnants of the outer wall were demolished, and a year later the gate buildings and bridges were dismantled and the city moat was filled in, creating a city plantation in its place. To improve communication in the second half of the 19th century, four new passages were pierced in the wall: in 1870 at the exit of Slowackiego, Piastowska and E. Plater, and in 1873 also Kołłątaja Street. The demolition of more sections of the wall was connected with the construction of a junior high school on Kollataja Street and the expansion of the school on Koscielna Street. Five towers were also among the sections demolished. Work on the fortifications continued until the early 20th century. At that time, the gate passage at the Kłodzka Tower was reconstructed, later also the Wroclaw Tower (1921).
04.09.2014
