Residential Towers of the Left-Bank Wrocław. An Unusual or a Forgotten Phenomenon in the Medieval Cityscape?
Residential Towers of the Left-Bank Wrocław. An Unusual or a Forgotten Phenomenon in the Medieval Cityscape?

Summary/Abstract: In this study, we have taken on the subject of medieval residential towers in the chartered city of Wrocław. We discuss residential towers and tower houses that have been identified through archaeological/architectural, historical and iconographic research. The location of these towers in the city is associated with areas occupied by the elites of knightly and bourgeois origin, concentrated in the vicinity of the Market Square and the main roads leading from it. The model of residential towers can be found among the oldest masonry buildings from the 13th century and at the threshold of the early modern period, as evidenced by bourgeois constructions from the 16th century. It has been demonstrated that tower buildings could be associated with the foundations of the bourgeoisie, thus drawing inspiration from patterns known from Italy and Germany, serving as a means of emphasising the status of the founder. City-wall towers could also serve residential purposes; however, they did not possess the attributes of prestige.

• Details
• Contents