The issue of limitatio in early Silesian urban planning

Roland Mruczek

doi:10.37190/arc230405

Abstract

The economic and legal changes taking place in Silesia during the times of melioratio terrae undoubtedly brought a revolution in the cultural landscape. The concept of a border in the non-urbanized space of the early Middle Ages had a completely different dimension than its foundation counterpart. The rapidly progressing colonization campaign and the development of large monastic land ownership resulted in a significant density of the settlement network, as well as a change in the ownership structure of the land itself, which was increasingly equipped with immunity. The borders – previously of a blurry, strip-like nature – increasingly took on a linear, precisely defined course. The culmination of this process was the marking of the boundaries of the chartered city (fossata), soon consolidated by city fortifications. Our study is an attempt to outline the issues of more recent research on the matter of the boundaries of a medieval city, which are the result of the progressive stratification of the settlement space in Silesia. The presented case study was intended to draw attention to new, surprising discoveries showing the evolutionary transition from the strip-like, highly conventional nature of early medieval borders to linear delimitations typical of the late and declining Middle Ages. The presented sketch is based on the results of more recent archaeological and architectural research conducted in Silesian cities, as well as analyzes of historical and iconographic sources. It is the first part of a series devoted to the stratification of urban space in the Middle Ages. The fortifications of individual elements of the early medieval Wrocław agglomeration, which had different owners, are still an open research problem, although their existence cannot be questioned today. In turn, marking the boundaries of the chartered city in the form of a rampart and moat had primarily legal and administrative significance and, in this sense, separated the area endowed with immunity from the space covered by princely law and its burdens. In the case of Wrocław, however, the flood protection and later defensive nature of the newly built structures were at least as important.

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1(77)

Roland Mruczek*, Tomasz Kastek**

The issue of limitatio in early Silesian urban planning

The problem of city boundaries

According to the traditional Etruscan ritual of found-

ing a city, limitatio occupies a high second position in the

order of acts, just behind inauguratio, at the same time

being ahead of orientatio and consecratio [1]. In this re-

spect, the medieval way of founding the city seems to be

similar. Since the rst stage of creating a settlement center

– the act of the ruler’s will – basically escapes archaeo-

logical examination, a researcher of a medieval city must

focus his/her activities on examining the boundaries of the

center and the principles of its intentional layout, taking

DOI: 10.37190/arc240105

Published in open access. CC BY NC ND license

into account, of course, the earlier phases of its develop-

ment, which do not show “features of geometric correct-

ness”, and also – through its “evolutionary development”

– indicating the temporariness and changeability of the

legal conditions governing its functioning. In the case of

Silesian cities, the orientatio stage, understood here as

marking out the main urban axes of the city, the derivative

of which was ideally a checkerboard-block structure, usu-

ally became the main object of interest of researchers, and

the explorations themselves usually provided spectacular

results. In turn, the elusive stage of limitatio was usual-

ly recognized as a result of accidental discoveries, which

were also usually questioned.

The economic and legal changes taking place in Silesia

during the times of melioratio terrae undoubtedly brought

a revolution in the cultural landscape. The concept of

a border in the non-urbanized space of the early Middle

Ages had a completely dierent dimension than its foun-

* ORCID: 0000-0003-1866-3147. Faculty of Architecture,

Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Poland, e-mail:

roland.mruczek@pwr.edu.pl

** ORCID: 0000-0002-0222-6199. Faculty of Architecture,

Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Poland.

Abstract

The economic and legal changes taking place in Silesia during the times of melioratio terrae undoubtedly brought a revolution in the cultural

landscape. The concept of a border in the non-urbanized space of the early Middle Ages had a completely different dimension than its foundation

counterpart. The rapidly progressing colonization campaign and the development of large monastic land ownership resulted in a significant density

of the settlement network, as well as a change in the ownership structure of the land itself, which was increasingly equipped with immunity. The

borders – previously of a blurry, strip-like nature – increasingly took on a linear, precisely defined course. The culmination of this process was the

marking of the boundaries of the chartered city (fossata), soon consolidated by city fortifications.

Our study is an attempt to outline the issues of more recent research on the matter of the boundaries of a medieval city, which are the result of the

progressive stratification of the settlement space in Silesia. The presented case study was intended to draw attention to new, surprising discoveries show-

ing the evolutionary transition from the strip-like, highly conventional nature of early medieval borders to linear delimitations typical of the late and

declining Middle Ages. The presented sketch is based on the results of more recent archaeological and architectural research conducted in Silesian cities,

as well as analyzes of historical and iconographic sources. It is the first part of a series devoted to the stratification of urban space in the Middle Ages.

The fortifications of individual elements of the early medieval Wrocław agglomeration, which had different owners, are still an open research prob-

lem, although their existence cannot be questioned today. In turn, marking the boundaries of the chartered city in the form of a rampart and moat had

primarily legal and administrative significance and, in this sense, separated the area endowed with immunity from the space covered by princely law

and its burdens. In the case of Wrocław, however, the flood protection and later defensive nature of the newly built structures were at least as important.

Key words: Silesia, Wrocław, Middle Ages, archaeology, architecture, town planning, town boundary

1(77)/2024

40 Roland Mruczek, Tomasz Kastek

Fig. 1. Wrocław, Old Town. Layout of 13

century buildings and archaeological discoveries (source: [10]):

a) Markings on the map: 1 – castle on Ostrów Tumski, 2 – left-bank castle (I), 3 – City Arsenal, left-bank castle (II), 4 – Market Square,

5 – Nowy Targ Square, 6 – church of St. Wojciech, 7 – church of St. Maria Magdalena, 8 – Kurzy Targ Street, 9 – Oławska Gate (I),

10 – Świdnica Gate (II), 11 – remains of an earth-sand-fascine embankment with a 13

century moat, 12 – probable area of Walloon settlement,

13 – field of eighteen rows of negatives from piles with two border ditches of city plots, 14 – Corpus Christi hospital with a cemetery and

a chapel, where the Corpus Christi Church was later erected;

b) longitudinal section through archaeological deposits discovered under Kurzy Targ Street – eastern section with relics of the buildings of

a non-existent thirteenth-century bourgeois plot facing Szewska Street. The arrows mark a relic of the embankment – the presumed border of the

settlement of German guests at the church of St. Mary Magdalene (source: [9])

Il. 1. Wrocław, Stare Miasto. Rozplanowanie trzynastowiecznej zabudowy i odkryć archeologicznych (źródło: [10]):

a) Oznaczenia na mapie: 1 – zamek na Ostrowie Tumskim, 2 – zamek lewobrzeżny (I), 3 – Arsenał Miejski, zamek lewobrzeżny (II),

4 – Rynek, 5 – plac Nowy Targ, 6 – kościół św. Wojciecha, 7 – kościół św. Marii Magdaleny, 8 – ulica Kurzy Targ, 9 – brama Oławska (I),

10 – brama Świdnicka (II), 11 – pozostałości wału ziemno-piaszczysto-faszynowego z fosą trzynastowieczną,

12 – prawdopodobny teren osadnictwa walońskiego, 13 – pole osiemnastu rzędów negatywów po palach z dwoma rowami granicznymi parceli

miejskich, 14 – szpital Bożego Ciała z cmentarzem i kaplicą, gdzie powstał później kościół pw. Bożego Ciała;

b) przekrój podłużny przez nawarstwienia archeologiczne odkryte pod ulicą Kurzy Targ – odcinek wschodni z reliktami zabudowy nieistniejącej

trzynastowiecznej parceli mieszczańskiej zwróconej frontem do ulicy Szewskiej. Strzałkami zaznaczono relikt nasypu – domniemanej granicy

osady gości niemieckich przy kościele św. Marii Magdaleny (źródło: [9])

dation counterpart. The rapidly progressing colonization

campaign and the development of large monastic land

ownership resulted in a signicant density of the settle-

ment network, as well as a change in the ownership struc-

ture of the land itself, which was increasingly equipped

with immunity. The borders – previously of a blurry, strip-

like nature – increasingly took on a linear, precisely de-

ned course. In the early Middle Ages, the boundaries of

estates were established as a result of ujazd (tours around

the area of a future settlement) made personally by the

rulers, or less often by high state ocials acting on their

behalf [2]. From Silesia, we know the Dzirżykraj ujazd

The issue of limitatio in early Silesian urban planning 41

in Słup, mentioned in 1177, one of the oldest knight’s es-

tates conrmed by sources [3], [4]. If not in 1148, then

certainly in 1193 there was Ślęża Ujazd, belonging to the

monastery of Canons Regular of the Blessed Virgin Mary

on Piasek in Wrocław. In 1209, the monastic and prince-

ly estates in Ślęża were re-demarcated [5]. A fascinating

study of the reconstruction of the border marked at that

time, along with a symbolic interpretation of the way it

was marked, was presented by Andrzej Mierzwiński [6].

The prestigious importance of city borders, emphasized

by fortied circuits giving the townspeople defensive in-

dependence, and their understanding by contemporaries

is evidenced by the entry of the Duke of Świdnica-Jawor,

Bolko I the Strict, into rebellious Wrocław in 1297, not

through the city gate, but through an extensive, hastily

made breach in the defensive wall, fortunately located

with high probability by archaeologists.

The boundaries of the settlements

of the early medieval Wrocław agglomeration

The extensive early urban agglomeration of Wrocław

initially consisted of many settlement clusters connected

by a system of dependencies with the stronghold complex

on Ostrów Tumski. Its boundaries were naturally marked

by the outline of the Oder Island, and the archaeological-

ly identied fortications took the form of wooden and

earth embankments in a hook-and-slat structure, main-

tained in good technical condition as part of the obliga-

tions of the princely law system until the second quarter

of the 13

century, when the process of replacing them

with brick defensive walls began. However, the course

of the new fortications was limited only to the western

part, where the prince’s residence had existed since the

third fourth quarter of the 12

century. The fact that the

bishop’s palace, the residential tower of the provost of

the cathedral chapter and the 12

century church of St.

Peter, a church founded by the nobleman Komes Miko-

ra were located on Tumska Island, however, undoubtedly

proves the existence of property boundaries also within

the borough (also known as suburbium). The mysterious

“eastern” stronghold, adjacent to key investments of feu-

dal lords from church circles and probably the oldest ele-

ment of the defensive structure of Ostrów Tumski, was no

longer continued in the late Middle Ages, giving way to

the houses of the clergy. The specicity of early Wrocław

were extensive areas of private property, concentrated in

the hands of only one noble family, whose economic and

political career, as well as foundation activities, have no

precedent in the realities of Poland at that time, giving it

a European rank. Apart from the bishop and the prince, it

was the Włostowic family who was responsible for the

rapid transformation of the Wrocław agglomeration into

a key trade center at an important Oder crossing. We know

that both Piotr Włostowic and Mikora owned manors in

the area of Ołbin in Wrocław, which stands out for its

development potential. During the archaeological and ar-

chitectural research on the Ołbin settlement complex, the

existence of early medieval fortications of the Benedic-

tine (later Norbertine) monastery complex in the form of

embankments and moats was discussed. Taking into ac-

count the market character of the settlement and its long-

term primacy within the Wrocław agglomeration (before

1139–1232), it is worth asking a question as to the possi-

ble strengthening of the entire settlement center together

with the market square, three churches and the seats of the

nobles. Ołbin, located among the Oder oodplains, cer-

tainly also required appropriate protection in the event of

oods [7], [8]. It is worth noting that the main riverbed of

the Oder in historical times is the so-called St. Wincen-

ty Oder, owing in the immediate vicinity of the abbey.

Ołbin, immortalized on the Weihners’ plan from 1562, is

a huge complex of religious and economic buildings, sur-

rounded by a system of brick fortications with towers.

Their records cover primarily the end of the Middle Ages.

Despite complex religious and economic reasons, the

quick demolition of the Ołbin complex in 1529 in the face

of the Turkish threat, carried out as part of the clearing of

the foreground of the Wrocław fortications, also had its

military aspect and proved the value of the fortications

erected after the Hussite Wars.

If not in the fourth quarter of the 12

century, then

certainly at the beginning of the 13

century, the dynam-

ic development of the left-bank center began, based on

Walloon, Jewish and German settlers. It initiated a long

process of economic and legal changes related to the im-

plementation of the rental (or socage) economy in Silesia.

The huge plateau, bounded by the course of the so-called

large oxbow lake and the edge of the oodplain terrace,

was periodically ooded, especially in the southern and

southeastern parts, where, not coincidentally, the Gal-

licians, who had a reputation as experts in the eld of

hydrotechnics, settled. The settlements at that time were

concentrated in the vicinity of several terrain peaks.

As a trace of the fortications of the German guests

Wrocław settlement at the church of St. Mary Magda-

lene, belonging to the early medieval agglomeration of

Wrocław, there may be a layer of redeposited primary hu-

mus several meters wide and one meter thick, recorded in

the northern prole of the excavation at Kurzy Targ Street,

in the vicinity of layers conrming exceptionally inten-

sive settlement, dating back to at least the beginning of

the 13

century [9]. Such a situation could only occur in

conditions of long-term complete exclusion of this strip of

land from use due to its occupation by a communication

route or an embankment (Fig. 1). This is, of course, not

proof of the existence of a defensive perimeter around one

of the elements of the early urban agglomeration, but the

proximity of the edge of the ood terrace from the north

and the deep wedge of depression on the north-west made

the hill on which the rst church was built at the end of

the 12

century a naturally defensive place. According to

some researchers, this would be the western outskirts of

the market center, the protocenter of which was the ad

sanctum Adalbertum settlement [11], conrmed in 1202

by sources. We learn about it from a document describing

the location of the Gerung curia situated there, donated by

Henry the Bearded to the Cistercians from Lubiąż. Józef

Kaźmierczyk came across the relics of the alleged oppo-

42 Roland Mruczek, Tomasz Kastek

site ring of the then Wrocław fortications, seeing them

as the defense system of the Nowy Targ settlement [12].

Currently, however, the course of the alleged embankment

in other parts of the Old Town, as postulated by the re-

searcher, cannot be conrmed. More recent discoveries, in

turn, support its much wider range and a dierent origin.

Fossata prime locacionis – the oldest border of

Wrocław at its foundation? Borders of Głogów,

Namysłów, Świerzawa and Sobótka

The introduction of modern western legal and spatial

patterns in the planning of Silesian cities dates back to

the 13

century. Many very important elements of the

original urban layouts of Złotoryja, Lwówek Śląski, Środa

Śląska and Nowogrodziec – the earliest urban centers

formed in the times of Henry the Bearded – have not yet

been archaeologically recognized. The separation of these

settlement formations from the space subject to princely

law required a clear denition of the limits of immunity.

The oldest conrmation of the existence of the border of the

city of Wrocław is a mention in the foundation document

from 1261, which mentions the inhabitants of the areas

located ante civitatem [...] infra fossata prime locacionis

[13]–[15]. Of course, this provision sparked a long

discussion, but nevertheless the “moat”, “embankment” or

literally “boundary” of the city of the rst foundation was

an objectively noticeable structure in the settlement space

of thirteenth-century Wrocław and was a key argument for

people applying for the status of townspeople, which was

lost as a result of the perturbations most probably related to

the legal and spatial transformation of Bolesław Rogatka

carried out in 1242 [14], [16], [17]. This argument was so

important that princes Henry III the White and his brother

Władysław acceded to the requests of the wronged and

equalized them in rights with the rest. The content of the

foundation document shows that these were, among others,

the inhabitants of the Walloon settlement and the settlement

next to the church of St. Mary of Egypt, possibly living

in the area of the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary on

Piasek [18]. A certain, though not very strong, clue to its

chronology may be the St. Maurycy Bridge, mentioned in

1226, leading to the Walloons from the area of the parish

church of St. Wojciech. A mention of the Bridge of St.

Maurycy appeared in the document granting the St. Wojciech

church to to the Dominicans who came to Wrocław inter

curiam Petri sacerdotis et Pontem sancti Maurici [14],

[19], [20]. This bridge, according to Tadeusz Kozaczewski

[21] and Jerzy Rozpędowski [22], was thrown over the then

existing moat in order to connect the city with the Walloon

settlement. It is usually located in the area of the later outer

Oława Gate (II) [23]. A dierent opinion on this matter is

represented by Marta Młynarska-Kaletynowa [24], who,

following Theodor Goerlitz [25], assumes that it was

simply a road paved with wood or stones. She also provides

slightly later examples of Wrocław streets (Schuhbrücke,

Schmiedebrücke, Oderbrücke, Kürschnerbrücke) [26].

This author similarly interprets the mention of pons

lapideus in a document from 1315/1316 [14]. The apparent

Fig. 2. Wrocław: a) “Great Foundation” according to Jerzy Rozpędowski. Previous discoveries of relics of the oldest Wrocław fortifications

have been marked: W1 – embankments around Wrocław, F1 – moat, W2 – embankment at the Corpus Christi Church, F2 – moat at the Corpus

Christi Church, P – the remains of a thirteenth-century relic, a bridgehead (the arrow marks the place of discovery) (prepared by T.A. Kastek,

R. Mruczek, J. Rozpędowski); b) reconstruction of the city plan in the 14

century [27]: 1 – castle on Ostrów Tumski, 2 – left-bank castle (I),

3 – City Arsenal, left-bank castle (II), 4 – Market Square, 5 – Knights Hospitaller’s commandry, 6 – Świdnicka Gate (II), 1242, 1261, 1263

– dates of known foundations under German law. The areas covered by the locations are marked with colours

Il. 2. Wrocław: a) „Wielka Lokacja” według Jerzego Rozpędowskiego. Zaznaczono dotychczasowe odkrycia reliktów najstarszych wrocławskich

umocnień: W1 – wały wokół Wrocławia, F1 – fosa, W2 – wał przy kościele Bożego Ciała, F2 – fosa przy kościele Bożego Ciała, P – pozostałość

reliktu trzynastowiecznego, przyczółek mostowy (strzałką oznaczono miejsce odkrycia) (oprac. T.A. Kastek, R. Mruczek, J. Rozpędowski);

b) rekonstrukcja planu miasta w XIV wieku [27]: 1 – zamek na Ostrowie Tumskim, 2 – zamek lewobrzeżny (I), 3 – Arsenał Miejski, zamek

lewobrzeżny (II), 4 – Rynek, 5 – komandoria joannitów, 6 – brama Świdnicka (II), 1242 rok, 1261 rok, 1263 rok – daty znanych lokacji

na prawie niemieckim. Kolorami oznaczono tereny objęte lokacjami

The issue of limitatio in early Silesian urban planning 43

contradiction of the document’s provisions regarding the

areas “in front of the city” and at the same time “within the

borders (moats, embankments) of the rst foundation” was

explained by Jerzy Rozpędowski, formulating the concept

of the Great Foundation of Wrocław [22], according

to which the settlement collapse related to the Mongol

invasion in 124, was to result in a signicant reduction

in the area covered by immunity. The alleged oldest

fortications on the left bank of Wrocław have been the

subject of many researchers’ studies. Józef Kaźmierczyk

was the rst to come across their relics, seeing them as

a defense system of the Nowy Targ settlement [20]

. These

discoveries – often questioned in recent decades – have been

repeatedly conrmed archaeologically in the southwestern,

southern, southeastern, and also northern outskirts of the

Old Town (Fig. 2). They took the form of a sand-earth-

fascine embankment of considerable width and height and

an accompanying moat (Fig. 3). In the area of the Knights

Hospitaller enclave and the Świdnica Gate (II), a double

system of embankments and moats was recorded. Although

Józef Kaźmierczyk, discovering relics of embankments, among oth-

ers, at Klemensa Janickiego Street, in the vicinity of the eastern section of

the thirteenth-century defensive walls, connected their existence with the

settlement located between the St. Wojciech Church and the Odra crossings.

they did not constitute an obstacle capable of stopping

the Mongol invaders in 1241, they fullled their function

perfectly as a physical boundary of the functioning of city

law and at the same time the rst ood protection system for

Wrocław, which was ooded from this side during spring

thaws [23], [28]–[31]. It is possible that this investment was

carried out on the initiative of Prince Henry the Bearded

by the Walloons, already appreciated specialists in the eld

of hydrotechnics, known for carrying out similar works in

Brunswick, Hildesheim and Magdeburg [32], [33]. The

recent discovery of the relics of the mentioned embankment

under the City Arsenal and the remains of the third,

unnished Wrocław castle, which preceded its construction,

associated with Henryk IV Probus (1278–1290), also forces

us to recall the chronicle mention of unspecied earthworks

carried out there by Bolesław the Tall in 1172 as part of

preparations for the defense of Wrocław during the conict

with relatives and the Wrocław nobility, which ended with

the imperial intervention [34], [35].

Of course, the example of the foundation Wrocław is not

an isolated one. A similar border and defense system was

discovered in the 1960s in Głogów, where clear traces of

a wooden structure were revealed – plances, fences or hoard-

ings crowning a sand and earth embankment [36] (Fig. 4).

Recently, a 13

-century rampart was identied in Namys-

Fig. 3. Wrocław, Old Town. Remains of medieval embankments and moats discovered, among others: a) at Wolności Square/Zamkowa Street;

b, c) at Teatralny Square; d) on Heleny Modrzejewskiej/Zamkowa Street. Scheme of deposits recorded in the area of the fourteenth-century

fortifications: 1) yellow calcareous sand, 2) podsolic soil, overlying layer (primary humus), 3)–5) deposits of the earth-sand-fascine embankment,

6) northern edge of the thirteenth-century moat, 7) greasy humus layer that was created as a result of long-term use of the area on the existing

embankment, which was destroyed during an investment related to the construction of fourteenth-century fortifications, 8) sandy-humus layer

created after the destruction of the embankment in the 14

century, 9) layers related to the functioning of the medieval moat,

M) stone foundation curtains of the fourteenth-century defensive wall

Il. 3. Wrocław, Stare Miasto. Pozostałości wału i fos średniowiecznych odkryte między innymi: a) na placu Wolności/ulicy Zamkowej;

b, c) na placu Teatralnym; d) na ulicy Heleny Modrzejewskiej/Zamkowej. Schemat nawarstwień zarejestrowany w rejonie przebiegu

czternastowiecznych obwarowań: 1) żółty piasek calcowy, 2) ziemia bielicowa, warstwa nadcalcowa (humus pierwotny), 3)–5) nawarstwienia

wału ziemno-piaszczysto-faszynowego, 6) północny brzeg fosy trzynastowiecznej, 7) tłusta warstwa próchniczna powstała w wyniku

długotrwałego użytkowania terenu na istniejącym wale, która została zniszczona podczas prowadzonej inwestycji związanej ze wznoszeniem

fortyfikacji czternastowiecznych, 8) piaszczysto-próchniczna warstwa powstała po zniszczeniu wału w XIV wieku, 9) nawarstwienia związane

z funkcjonowaniem fosy średniowiecznej, M) kamienny fundament kurtyny czternastowiecznego muru obronnego

44 Roland Mruczek, Tomasz Kastek

łów, where it preceded the construction of defensive walls in

the area of the Kraków Gate (Fig. 5) [39]. We know similar

fortications from Warsaw, Sieradz, Kołobrzeg and other

cities in Poland [40], [41]

. Most probably, they were also in

use in Strzegom and Świerzawa [42], [43]. The presence of

brick city gates in Świerzawa, with the absence of the defen-

sive wall itself, may suggest that the investment was inter-

rupted at an early stage of construction and that some older

defensive and ood embankments functioned there. Due to

its location in a narrow valley on the Kaczawa River, the city

was and is currently exposed to frequent oods. Fossata is

primarily a border that can take the form of a ditch, a ditch

with a rampart, or a belt of border mounds, constituting the

equivalent of the former princely ujazd – designating an ur-

ban zone excluded from princely law [44]

. The example of

Sobótka is also interesting, which was undoubtedly an early

rural foundation of the villa forensis type, raised to the rank

of a city in the 14

century. Despite evidence of the exist-

ence of defensive walls there, archaeological research and

analysis of existing remains lead to the conclusion that fenc-

The relics of the rst fortications of Kołobrzeg discovered in

2000 include a rampart several meters wide, perhaps reinforced with

a palisade, and a palisade just in front of the face of the defensive walls.

Fossatum, -i: 1) ditch, moat, 2) border ditch, 3) border mound,

4) obligation to build embankments, 5) fortied camp, 6) army; Fossa,

-ae: 1) ditch, moat, excavation, 2) mine shaft, 3) grave, 4) embankment,

earthwork, 5) rampart, 6) middle: so-called trough, a measure of dug salt.

es built in permanent stone structures of individual proper-

ties functioned there, at the same time creating a perimeter

protecting the entire city from the outside. According to the

excavations, the fortications of Polkowice had a similar

character, forming a stone perimeter of a small width, mak-

ing it practically impossible to hang a bridge or a defensive

porch over it. During the Thirty Years’ War, the fortications

of most small urban centers in Silesia nally lost their mili-

tary value and were only a passive obstacle of an orderly na-

ture, protecting against robbers and vagrants. The defensive

walls of Chojnów were dismantled to a safe height of 4.5 m

in order to obtain building materials for the victims of res

[43]. Given the economic realities of the time, this was not

an exceptional situation at all.

The mystery of the boundaries of the monastery

village – pre-foundation Kostomłoty

Before becoming a charter town, Kostomłoty belonged

to the Abbey of St. Wincenty in Ołbin, as mentioned in

the bull of Pope Innocent III from 1201, which recorded

the name Costomlot [20]

. However, the rst mentions of

the village date back to 1149, when the forum Costinlot/

This document conrmed that the monastery of St. Vincent – apart

from other properties – includes the church of St. Gothard together with

the village of Costomlot.

Fig. 4. Głogów: a) plan of identified and reconstructed defensive walls with archaeological surveys, b) view of the castle moats on the plan

of Głogów (source: [37]), c) negatives of the palisade at the southwestern defensive wall, d) moat of the town’s stronghold, e) negatives of piles

strengthening the edge of the moat. On the plan: A – the seat of the city official, B – the church of St. Peter and the Dominican monastery,

C – St. Stanisław Church and the Franciscan monastery, D – castle, E – Jewish settlement, F – bishop’s manor, G – two moats at the castle,

H – archaeological surveys at the castle and urban fortifications discovered in 1963, I – relic of the brick defensive circuit and its reconstruction (source: [36])

Il. 4. Głogów: a) plan zidentyfikowanych i rekonstruowanych murów obronnych wraz z naniesionymi sondażami archeologicznymi, b) widok fos

zamkowych na planie Głogowa (źródło: [37]), c) negatywy palisady przy południowo-zachodnim murze obronnym, d) fosa grodu

mieszczańskiego, e) negatywy pali wzmacniających brzeg fosy. Na planie: A – siedziba urzędnika miejskiego, B – kościół św. Piotra i klasztor

dominikański, C – kościół św. Stanisława i klasztor franciszkański, D – zamek, E – osada żydowska, F – dwór biskupi, G – dwie fosy

przy zamku, H – sondaże archeologiczne przy zamku i obwarowaniach miejskich odkryte w 1963 roku, I – relikt murowanego obwodu obronnego

oraz jego rekonstrukcja (źródło: [36])

The issue of limitatio in early Silesian urban planning 45

Costimlot [20] and Kostenblut [17] appear, and from 1193,

when Costomplat [20] and Costomlat (Kostenblut) [17]

were mentioned. The name of the village has noticeably

evolved over the centuries. Thus, the forms Costembloth

(1252) [13], Kostenbluth [15], Kostinplot (14

centu-

ry) [45] and Kostomlath (1334) and also Germanized names

appeared such as Chozzenplotz (1329), Costinplocz (1346)

and Coczemplocz (1360) [46]. More recently, the term Ko-

stenplot, Kostenbluth was used. This Germanized form of

the original Slavic place name has no clear explanation.

Both “kość i młot” (“bone and hammer”) (Kostomlath) and

“płot i krew” (“fence and blood”) (Kostenplot) appear here.

Were the changes in the name of the village related to le-

gal changes or the occupation of the then inhabitants of the

village? It is worth noting, however, that in the edition of

The Life of St. Jadwiga by Konrad Baumgarten [47]

there

The text Historia ducis Henrici was found by Stanisław Solic-

ki in the Life of St. Jadwiga, published in German in 1504 by Konrad

Baumgarten in Wrocław, which was based on Anton Hornig’s ma-

nuscript from 1451.

is Historia ducis Henrici, which records the name of the

village of Costoplocz along with an intriguing explana-

tion of its origins. This document contains the following

sentence: “Item dicitur, quod circa villam Costoplocz

ibidem rustici cum ossibus faciebant sepes ante segetes

propter vitanda dampna et ab illo vocatur Costoplocz,

vulgariter eyn beynen czawhn”. This could indicate the

existence of a makeshift defense system of Kostomłoty in

the form of a fence or palisade, built using animal bones,

perhaps primarily marking the border of the village and

protecting crops against animals (Fig. 6). The existence

of such elements can be associated with town foundations

under German law, when the border of the area covered

by immunity could have a clear form of a ditch/moat,

embankment or a less permanent partition in the form of

a fence/palisade. It is worth mentioning the Danish Island

of Rømø in the archipelago of the Frisian Islands, where

in the town of Juvre a fence and the foundations of hous-

es made of whale bones have been preserved, which in

that case was explained by the severe shortage of build-

ing materials. In the case of Kostomłoty, magical treat-

Fig. 5. Namysłów, Krakow Gate: a) on the geometric plan of the town of Namysłów from 1718, the Krakow Gate is circled (source: [38]),

b) cross-section of the earth embankment with the visible level of primary humus (layer No. 2), c) view of the oldest, internal city gate (B)

along with the medieval level of pavement in the gate passage, d) view of a medieval earthwork with a fragment of the stone foundation of the

defensive wall (M). Diagonal arrows indicate the arrangement of the layers of the embankment, vertical arrows – the width of the identified relic

of the embankment, e) stone foundation of the oldest defensive circuit. Markings in the illustrations: 1) total sand, 2) primary humus, overcalc

layer, 3) layers of earth-sand-fascine embankment, 4) excavation for the stone foundation of the defensive wall, M – stone foundation of the

thirteenth-century defensive perimeter, B – relics of the thirteenth-century city gate (photos b–e by E. Wodejko [39])

Il. 5. Namysłów, brama Krakowska: a) na geometrycznym planie miasta Namysłowa z 1718 roku zaznaczono kółkiem bramę Krakowską (źródło:

[38]), b) przekrój wału ziemnego wraz z widocznym poziomem humusu pierwotnego (warstwa nr 2), c) widok najstarszej, wewnętrznej bramy

miejskiej (B) wraz ze średniowiecznym poziomem bruku w przejeździe bramnym, d) widok średniowiecznego wału ziemnego z fragmentem

kamiennego fundamentu muru obronnego (M). Skośne strzałki wskazują ułożenie warstw wału, pionowe strzałki – szerokość zidentyfikowanego

reliktu wału, e) kamienna ława fundamentowa najstarszego obwodu obronnego. Oznaczenia na ilustracjach: 1) piasek calcowy, 2) humus

pierwotny, warstwa nadcalcowa, 3) warstwy wału ziemno-piaszczystego-faszynowego, 4) wkop pod kamienny fundament muru obronnego,

M – kamienny fundament trzynastowiecznego obwodu obronnego, B – relikty trzynastowiecznej bramy miejskiej (fot. b-e E. Wodejko [39])

46 Roland Mruczek, Tomasz Kastek

ments related to the need to protect crops cannot be ruled

out. Civitas Costomlot was rst mentioned in 1254 [13]

Was the settlement already established under German law

and beneting from it? It can be assumed that it was, and

therefore – it had clear boundaries identical to the urban

boundaries, which had to be repaired from time to time.

The “outer city” in Wrocław and the variability

of foundation boundaries in the 13

century

Although researchers of Wrocław dier signicantly

in their views on the course of foundation processes and

the origins of the “outer city”, it is impossible to re-

main indierent to the latest archaeological discoveries

in this zone, the chronology of which is in clear contra-

diction to the vision of the spatial development of the

city, grounded in science, reminiscent of analogous pro-

cesses in other large European centers, such as Cologne

or Magdeburg. The extensive areas located between the

inner and outer rings of Wrocław’s fortications would

be annexed between 1242 and 1261 as a result of the

reconstruction of the city’s economic potential after the

Mongol invasion in 1241 (Fig. 2b). Meanwhile, the old-

est traces of settlement in this zone – especially the re-

mains of production activities (malting and brewing?),

single relics of brick buildings, traces of parcellation,

and, above all, numerous dendrochronologically dated

wells (after 1196–after 1237) – testify to the develop-

ment of this area already in the rst three decades of

the 13

century (Fig. 1a). Of course, the nature of the

excavated settlement traces – especially the dynamics of

development reconstructed on their basis – diers from

what can be observed in the oldest layers of the market

zone or Nowy Targ zone, but the presence of permanent

buildings forces us to ask problematic questions. Are we

dealing with material traces of former settlements of the

early urban agglomeration, or perhaps these are “sec-

ondary suburbs” created as a result of the reduction of

some larger urban concept, onto which the structures of

a municipal city were later layered? This problem was

already reected in the studies of Jerzy Rozpędowski

[49] – the author of the concept of “Greater Wrocław”

(Fig. 2a). Such visible settlement changes – visible in

archaeological layers – are usually a reection of turbu-

lent historical events and sudden political and econom-

ic changes. These undoubtedly took place in Poland in

the spring of 1241, and their urban consequences can be

seen primarily in Kraków and Wrocław. The destruc-

tion of the city by re, the atmosphere of constant threat

of a Tatar invasion after the spectacular defeat of Rus’

and the echoes of the two-year stay of nomads on the

Pannonian Plain, disastrous for Hungary, followed by

Kostomłoty may have been founded earlier, but no document

conrming this has survived. This fact would be indirectly conrmed by

the permission of Prince Henry III the White for the Premonstratensians

from the Abbey of St. Vincent (Wincenty) in Ołbin to found the village

of Górzec near Strzelin and Psie Pole [13] under German law in 1252,

with the same rights as the peasants in Kostomłoty (quod habet agricole

in Costembloth/Costimlot).

arduous ghts with the princes of Greater Poland during

the War of the Babenberg inheritance (1246–1278) [50],

and also the unfortunate Austrian expedition in 1260,

when other nomads – Polovtsians – in the battle of

Staatz and Laa, literally under the noses of the Silesian

princes coming to the rescue, annihilated a select unit

of veterans of the ghts in Styria [50], and another, ex-

ceptionally bloody Tatar invasion of Poland in the years

1259–1260 must have inuenced the decision to build

expensive brick fortications in Wrocław. It is possible

that this concept appeared shortly after the Wrocław ral-

ly in 1254, during which decisions were made to build

new strongholds – castles, probably during the modern-

ization of the castle fortications on Ostrów Tumski.

Closing the entire settlement at that time with a perma-

nent defensive perimeter was probably not taken into

account, especially within the boundaries of the “moat

of the rst foundation”. The course of the defensive pe-

rimeter erected at that time was probably optimal from

the point of view of the economic interests of the left-

bank city and protected its central, densely built-up part

with the Market Square and the city parishes. However,

it harmed the interests of other social (ethnic?) groups.

it did not take include settlement centers with churches

of St. Mary of Egypt, Saint Maurice and Saint Nicholas,

belonging to the former early urban agglomeration, and

also signicantly disturbed the cemetery at the church of

St. Wojciech and brick buildings at the Oławska Gate.

Soon the belt of fortications was widened, creating

in places a triple defensive perimeter with two moats.

Although cut o in this way from the city, its former

inhabitants were restored to the rights of townspeople

in 1261, and the release of the waters of Oława into the

city moat in 1291 – done hastily during the succession

struggles after the death of Henryk IV Probus – sealed

the fate of the original urban-planning concept and le-

gal status of Wrocław and for many years inuenced

the further development of the “outer city”, in the scal

sense divided into units separate from the rest of the

Old Town: the Brewers’ Quarter and the Walloon Quar-

ter. This fact was not changed by the short existence of

the internal defensive perimeter, only a few dozen years

old, which was quickly replaced in the military sense by

external fortications from 1299–1358, soon surround-

ed by townspeople’s houses and crossed by numerous

gates. The inner city moat was lled only in the years

1863–1865, and the buildings determined by the course

of the fortications disappeared largely as a result of

war damage after 1945, giving way to the modern wide

communication routes of Kazimierza Wielkiego Street,

which are in fact a permanent trace of events from sev-

eral hundred years ago.

Summary

Previous literature has not paid much attention to the is-

sue of the boundaries of a medieval city, usually identifying

it with the issues of city ramparts and fortications. The bor-

ders, which were a derivative of the progressive stratica-

tion of the settlement space in medieval Silesia, were drawn

The issue of limitatio in early Silesian urban planning 47

with the participation of rulers in the 12

–13

centuries,

which was reected in the content of documents issued on

this occasion. In recent years, spectacular discoveries have

been made more and more often, showing an evolutionary

transition from the strip-like, highly conventional nature of

early medieval borders to linear delimitations typical of the

late and declining Middle Ages (pomerium, fossata). In the

case of Wrocław, the fortications of individual elements

of the early medieval Wrocław agglomeration, which had

dierent owners, remain an open research problem, al-

though their existence cannot be questioned today. In turn,

marking the boundaries of the chartered city in the form of

a rampart and moat had primarily legal and administrative

signicance and, in this sense, separated the area endowed

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W powiększeniu widoczne

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Streszczenie

Zagadnienie limitatio we wczesnej urbanistyce śląskiej

Przemiany ekonomiczno-prawne zachodzące na Śląsku w czasach melioratio terrae przyniosły niewątpliwie rewolucję w krajobrazie kulturowym. Pojęcie

granicy w niezurbanizowanej przestrzeni wczesnego średniowiecza miało zupełnie inny wymiar niż jego lokacyjny odpowiednik. Szybko postępująca akcja

kolonizacyjna i rozwój wielkiej klasztornej własności ziemskiej spowodowały znaczne zagęszczenie sieci osadniczej, a także zmianę struktury własnościowej samej

ziemi, coraz częściej wyposażonej w immunitet. Granice – dotąd o niewyraźnym, pasowym charakterze – coraz częściej przybierały liniowy, ściśle określony

przebieg. Punktem kulminacyjnym tego procesu było wytyczenie granic miasta lokacyjnego (fossata), wkrótce utrwalonych przez obwarowania miejskie.

Praca stanowi próbę zarysowania problematyki nowszych badań nad zagadnieniem granic miasta średniowiecznego, będących wynikiem postępującej

stratyfikacji przestrzeni osadniczej na Śląsku. Zaprezentowane studium przypadku miało za zadanie zwrócenie uwagi na nowe, zaskakujące odkrycia, ukazujące

ewolucyjne przejście od pasowego, mocno umownego charakteru wczesnośredniowiecznych granic, do delimitacji liniowych, typowych dla późnego

i schyłkowego średniowiecza. Zaprezentowany szkic opiera się na wynikach nowszych badań archeologiczno-architektonicznych prowadzonych w miastach

śląskich, analizach źródeł historycznych oraz ikonograficznych. Stanowi pierwszą część cyklu poświęconego stratyfikacji przestrzeni miejskiej w średniowieczu.

W dalszym ciągu otwartym problemem badawczym pozostają umocnienia poszczególnych członów wczesnośredniowiecznej aglomeracji wrocławskiej,

mających różnych właścicieli, choć dziś już nie można zakwestionować ich istnienia. Z kolei wyznaczenie granic miasta lokacyjnego w postaci wału i fosy

miało znaczenie przede wszystkim administracyjno-prawne i w tym sensie oddzielało teren obdarzony immunitetem od przestrzeni objętej prawem książęcym

i jego ciężarami. W wypadku Wrocławia co najmniej tak samo ważny był jednak charakter przeciwpowodziowy, a później obronny nowo powstałych struktur.

Słowa kluczowe: Śląsk, Wrocław, średniowiecze, archeologia, architektura, urbanistyka, granica miasta