History

The town of Prabuty (German: Resinburg) was granted municipal rights probably in the late 13th century or in the early 14th century. It is certain that the municipal rights were renewed (or granted?) under Kulm law in 1330. The Kwidzyń Gate, also called the Hospital Gate, was erected in around mid-14th century and was one of three gates that were part of the fortifications system of the town. The other two gates were called the High Gate (in the north, demolished in 1841) and the Królewiec Gate (it did not exist already in 1745). There was also a wicket gate in the western section of the wall, sometimes called the Pottery Gate. In the 16th century, a hospital for the poor was built next to the Kwidzyń Gate, and therefore the gate was also called the Hospital Gate. Since the 18th century, the neglected town walls and gates were gradually dismantled. Bad condition of the Kwidzyń Gate deteriorated further during the fire of the town in the second half of the 19th century (1868?). During the reconstruction, the form of the top section of the Gate was changed; the archival photos from the early 20th century show a parapet in the form of a crenellation that conceals a hip roof.

In 1908, the gate was rebuilt according to a design by Arnold Weber and converted into a water tower. Above the fifth floor, a reinforced concrete ceiling was built and an upward extension in the form of a high storey, wider than other storeys and crowned with a copper cupola with a lantern, was executed. The Gate survived the war; during the renovation works in 1960s, its medieval form was restored. Currently, the structure, apart from non-governmental associations, houses also an exhibition hall with a collection of Werner Zebrowski, a pre-war resident of the town (paintings, equipment, postcards, maps, plans, photos, books, and a model of a castle).

Description

The Gate was situated in the southern section of the town wall, terminating the road to the town from Kwidzyń. Currently, it is located at the intersection of Kwidzyńska street and Kościuszki square. From the east, there is a fragment of a Gothic wall adjacent to the gate.

The Gothic gate is made of brick, built on a square floor plan with an approx. 8.50 m side. The building has a simple form and is covered with a hip roof (its height with the roof amounts to approx. 27 metres). The façades are symmetrical, faced with brick, plastered in blind windows and niches. Signs of numerous modifications are visible. On the axis of the southern façade, on the ground floor, there is a pointed-arch splayed niche. On the axis, there is the Prabut coat of arms, probably from the 18th century. In the niche, there is a gate opening featuring a pointed arch in the top section, with a groin-vaulted gateway. Above, there are three pointed-arch shallow niches. In the one in the middle, there are two rectangular windows in a vertical arrangement.

The northern façade (from the town side) features a pointed-arch gate opening on the ground floor. Above, on the axis, in a small niche, there is a rectangular window and above it, a round niche with an elongated one on both sides. On the highest storey (analogically to the southern façade) there are four segment-headed blind windows.

The eastern façade has no window openings. The bottom parts are partly hidden behind the defensive walls and structures based on it (external stairs based on the wall). In the highest storey, there are five segment-headed blind windows.

In the western façade in the northern part of the ground floor, there is a bricked-up door opening, and in the highest storey, there are six segmental blind windows.

The site is accessible to visitors from the inside in the exhibition part. In the season, the Werner Zebrowski Exhibition Hall is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 11 am to 4 pm; outside the season, information is available on phone no. 884 800 115.

compiled by Teofila Lebiedź-Gruda, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Gdańsk, 11-09-2014.

Bibliography

• Barganowski A., Michalik H., Przewodnik po Powiślu. Powiat kwidzyński, Kwidzyn 2007, s. 125-133.
• Prabuty Brama Kwidzyńska. Inwentaryzacja. Rysunki robocze, oprac. W. Połoczanin, 1955 r., dokumentacja, Archiwum OT NID w Gdańsku.
• http://prabuty.fotopolska.eu/Prabuty/b40641,Brama_Kwidzynska.html
• http://smfg.cba.pl/090803_prabuty/prabuty.html