Písek Gate ( cs, Písecká brána), also called Bruska Gate ( cs, Bruská brána) is a former

city gate A city gate is a gate which is, or was, set within a city wall. It is a type of fortified gateway. Uses City gates were traditionally built to provide a point of controlled access to and departure from a walled city for people, vehicles, goods ...

of ''Baroque'' fortification of Prague, Czech Republic. Once belonging to the fortification section called Marian Walls ( cs, Mariánské hradby) it is located in ''K Brusce'' Street in the Hradčany neighbourhood, not far from Hradčanská metro station. Other sights in the vicinity include Royal Summer Palace or

Villa Bílek The Villa Bílek ( cs, Bílkova vila) is a house designed by the Czech sculptor and architect František Bílek in 1911. The villa is located in Hradčany neighbourhood of Prague, Czech Republic, several minutes walk from Hradčanská metro stat ...

. Nowadays Písek Gate is the only preserved gate of the city proper and one of four remaining of the whole fortification system (Tábor, Leopold and Chotek (Brick) gates are part of Vyšehrad Fortress). The name has nothing in common with town of Písek in Southern Bohemia but it derives from a previous medieval gate which used to stand several hundred steps away, at Písek, a defunct suburb of

Lesser Quarter Lesser, from Eliezer (, "Help/Court of my God"), is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Adolf Lesser (1851–1926), German physician * Aleksander Lesser (1814–1884), Polish painter and art critic * Anton Lesser (born 1952), Bri ...

(located approximately where ''Valdštejnská'' Street is today). This suburb together with the old gate was demolished in the 1620s in order to make space for then newly built Wallenstein Palace. The alternative name derives from the Brusnice (Bruska) stream, a tiny tributary of the Vltava River running along northern side of Prague Castle. The gate was situated between

bastion A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...

s of

St George Saint George (Greek language, Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin language, Latin: Georgius, Arabic language, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christians, Christian who is venerated as a sa ...

and St Ludmilla. It was built as one of latest parts of Baroque fortification in 1721 by architect Giovanni Battista Alliprandi after a design by František Vogot. Písek Gate serving northbound traffic was one of three city gates in the left bank part of Prague (the other were westbound Imperial Gate ( cs, Říšská brána) located in what is now ''Dlabačov'' Street and southbound Újezd Gate ( cs, Újezdská brána) in ''Újezd'' Street). During the War of the Austrian Succession in 1741 understaffed and weakly defended Písek Gate was where troops of Charles Albert, Elector of Bavaria and claimant to the throne of

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

, entered Prague. After the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

of 1866 it was decided that fortified cities were no longer necessary and the fortification ring of Prague started to be gradually dismantled. The Marian Walls survived until the turn of the 20th century when only fractions, including Písek Gate, were left. Thanks to a new road bypassing it, the gate was no longer considered an obstacle for growing traffic and remained standing. In 2000 - 2002 Písek Gate underwent restoration and was turned into a café and gallery; wedding ceremonies are held there as well.

External links

Official website of the gate
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pisek Gate Gates Buildings and structures in Prague Buildings and structures completed in 1721