History

The first fortifications were erected in Dynów after the chartering of the town on the basis of the Magdeburg law, which probably took place at the turn of the 14th and 15th century. It is proven by the functioning of a periurban area called Zabramie in 1436, determining the place as located in the north-eastern part of Dynów, however outside the line of town fortifications. Nearby, at the wooden Castle Gate, a castle was erected after 1409, which consisted of a residential building and a gate tower with a perimeter wall.This original urban defensive system terminated in the south by a Hungarian Gate and the defensive perimeter was formed by a wooden fence running on the edge of a rampart or escarpment. In the first decade of the 16th century, due to a rapid increase in the risk of Tatar and Osman invasions that ravaged south-eastern areas of Poland from the Autumn of 1497, the existing defensive system of Dynów was modernised. During these works, due to the expansion of the town’s area, the western front of the fortifications was relocated to the line of the current John Paul II Street, which was demarcated in place of a moat. During the modernisation of the defensive system in the first half of the 17th century, the Castle Gate was reinforced and reconstructed by erecting a large roundel in this area, integrating castle fortifications with urban fortifications into the round bastion system near the gate. The entrance to the town from the south was also reconstructed at that time. Location of the Hungarian Gate was also changed and the gate was reinforced by erecting fortifications of the tower type. This defensive system based on earthen and wooden fortifications was maintained in good condition throughout the 16th and 17th century, efficiently defending the town and its residents against attacks of Tatar hordes. After the town partially burned during the invasion of George III Rakocsi in March 1657, urban fortifications were rebuilt in the 1660s, although it was impossible to rebuild the destroyed castle. In the 18th century, due to the waning of danger posed by Tatars and changes in conducting military activities, urban fortifications were not maintained and began to be gradually demolished by residents. In the last quarter of the 18th century, the Castle Gate and Hungarian Gate were demolished and the process of levelling-out of ramparts and backfilling moats intensified.

Description

Former earthen fortifications in Dynów are located around the old chartered town, with a contour similar to a quadrangle. They consist of four fronts. The northern front in the western part is formed by a tall and steep escarpment lowering towards the parking area and a bus station; in the east, two lines of ramparts project towards the north. Along the abovementioned section, the fortifications included features of a round bastion system that reinforced the protection of the Castle Gate and the castle itself from the west. The southern front consists of two escarpments extending from Mickiewicz Street to Podwale Street, on both sides of Łazienna Street; the eastern front is formed by a steep escarpment along Podwale Street, while the western front, being the least clear in the area, is marked by a slight elevation in the area between Mickiewicz Street and John Paul II Street. The most characteristic and still visible component parts of the old urban fortifications are the northern part and a southern fragment. Apart from the steep escarpment on the northern side, the area of Przemyska Street draws attention on its southern section, which runs on the bottom of a narrow, neck-shaped gorge reaching the market square. The clearest remnant of the former defensive system in the southern part is a section of Łazienna Street, running parallel to the southern frontage of the market square, from Mickiewicz Street to Podwale Street, between the lines of tall ramparts. Currently, the preserved fragments of ramparts are overgrown with grass, while trees and bushes grow on plenty other sections.

The fortifications are accessible all year round.

compiled by Andrzej Gliwa, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Rzeszow, 06-10-2014.

Bibliography

• Adamczyk J. L., Fortyfikacje stałe na polskim przedmurzu od połowy XV do końca XVII wieku, Kielce 2004.
• Bogdanowski J., Architektura obronna w krajobrazie Polski. Od Biskupina do Westerplatte, Warszawa-Kraków 1996, s. 95.
• Frazik J. T., Zamki i budownictwo obronne ziemi rzeszowskiej, Kraków 1971, s. 65-81.
• Guerquin B., Zamki w Polsce, Warszawa 1984, s. 325.
• Proksa M., Studia nad zamkami i dworami ziemi przemyskiej od połowy XIV do początków XVIII wieku, Przemyśl 2001, s. 405-406.