History

The city walls were erected from the first half of the 13th century until the late 14th century and were subsequently extended upwards in the 16th century.

Description

The city walls in Chełmno surround the area of the Old Town district. Initially, the fortifications around the city of Chełmno included about 30 fortified towers and six gatehouses. All that remains today of this system of fortifications are the gunpowder tower, the tower near the former Cistercian monastery, the round tower, the corner tower near the former Dominican church (currently serving as an Evangelical church), the tower behind the hospital of the Holy Ghost as well as the Grudziądz Gatehouse. The entire ensemble, consisting of the manor house, the distillery, the granary and the surrounding park, is located in the middle of the village of Kawęczyn. The manor house was designed in the English Gothic Revival style. It is a two-storey masonry structure with a low gable roof. The front façade features an octagonal, five-storey tower with a crenellated parapet. A single-storey avant-corps with a balcony projects from the western side of the structure. The middle section of the façade features a terrace preceded by stairs. The garden façade incorporates a central terrace surrounding a small, semi-hexagonal extension embedded in the corner between the converging walls. In addition, there is also another avant-corps, positioned on the right hand side. The walls of the façade are partitioned with lesenes topped with cubiform finials. The distillery, erected in 1856, was designed on a T-shaped floor plan. It is a two-storey building with a converted attic and a basement, covered with a gable roof. The granary is a three-storey brick structure. The total surface area of the park amounts to approximately 3.5 hectares. The vegetation consists mostly of deciduous trees. The species represented in the park include plane, ash, poplar and birch.

The site is open to visitors.

compiled by Kamila Witkowska, National Heritage Board of Poland Regional Branch in Toruń, 19-02-2015.

Bibliography

• Zieliński M., Chełmno civitas totus Prussiae metropolis XVI-XVIII w., Bydgoszcz 2007, pp. 39-40