Cestná sieť a mýtne stanice na Požitaví v období stredoveku
The road network and toll stations in the Žitava region during the Middle Ages

Summary/Abstract: Roads have been the distinctive orientation lines of the landscape which they have crossed. Important roads have made a substantial contribution to the region. In the article I focus my attention on the reconstruction of the roadnetwork on the basis of archaeological and literary sources in the territory of the Žitava region during the Middle Ages. The Žitava region was sparsely inhabited in the 6th-8th centuries. Pathways of this period should be mainly assumed in the Lower Žitava region. The number of archaeological sites grew in the 9th-10th centuries. In this period the developed road network also existed in the Upper Žitava region. The 11th century literary sources give evidence on main roads which run alongside the River Žitava. Important road nodes were Dvory nad Žitavou, Vráble, and Zlaté Moravce. Jelenec (Gýmeš) and Hrušov Castles played an significant role in the road network as well. Literary sources prove that there was the connection between the studied territory and the Nitra and Hron regions. The well-known Czech road runs through the Lower Žitava region. The primary literary sources, which are mainly dated to the 14th and15th centuries, provide evidence on the dense network of toll stations in the Žitava region during the Late Middle Ages.

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