ADAPTATIONS OF THE MEDIEVAL DEFENSIVE ARCHITECTURE

ABSTRACT

Medieval towns, besides featuring a typical urban-architectural layout originating from medieval locations, were equipped with a characteristic repertoire of public facilities, such as the town hall, stalls, the town church, monastery complexes, hospitals, guild buildings, department stores. Such an organized socio-spatial area defended the defensive walls against numerous threats in those times. Despite the defortification carried out in the 18th and 19th centuries, many European towns have preserved their defensive walls, which are now part of a valuable cultural heritage. The aim of the conducted research was to determine the adaptability of the medieval military architecture preserved in the urban cultural environment. The research was carried out using a wealth of military architecture preserved in Western Pomerania – the West Pomeranian Province located in the north-western part of Poland. The first part of the paper presents exemplary adaptations of the valuable legacy of medieval urban military art related to the historic area of Pomerania and Neumark (currently areas of Poland and Germany). In the second part of the paper, an attempt was made to assess adaptations in relation to conservation theory and adaptation practices. The research was undertaken as part of a comparative analysis of the adaptation of defensive walls in towns with resources of medieval military art. The conducted research are pointing on limited adaptive-ness of defensive architecture, with being characterized by a linear form and small volume and the dependence of restoration works on conservator’s doctrine.

Keywords: medieval military architecture, Western Pomerania, Neumark, adaptation of historic buildings