Chodov Fortress(Chodovská tvrz)

Chodov Fortress

At the Southern Town (Jižní Město), nearby the panelled housing block, there is a unique relic - originally a Gothic water fortress, one of the few documents of this type of architecture, preserved from the times when it guarded the long-distance path across the ancient village of Chodov towards Prague. The fortress is unique for its rare central circular disposition with an internal courtyard. It was probably built in the beginning of the 14^th century, and it was surrounded from three sides by a water moat that was up to ten metres wide and four and a half metres deep. We do not know who to original builder was. Access was possible in the Western side via a wooden bridge mounted on bricked pillars. A part of the bridge, as well as the preserved Gothic gate, used to be collapsible. Over time, the fortress had two towers in the West and in the North, and also two wells with potable water were discovered, and foundations of the former smithery. Over the centuries, the building went through all stages of reconstructions, as the owners kept changing. In the years 1687 - 97, the then Renaissance appearance was changed by an extensive Baroque reconstruction. The last changes date back to the beginning of the 19^th century, when the fortress got its today’s appearance of a Classicist chateau with arcade circular courtyard and an external front, copying early-Baroque segmentation. The Classicist modifications were ordered by František Rousseau of Happencourt. In 1923, the chateau was purchased by the City of Prague, and in the object was adapted in 1931. In 1968, Chodov was added to Prague and it was used as the seat of the Prague State Farm, which used different annexed farm buildings; the chateau, however, got into a state of disrepair and there were considerations regarding its demolition. In the end, luckily, there was a reconstruction in the years 1984 - 88 according to a project of architect Miroslav Burian. The circular courtyard lined by the arcade gallery was preserved, and the former stables and chambers on the ground floor with Baroque wagon vaults and Classicist Prussian vaults are today used as a music hall, a gallery, and a café for the visitors. On the first floor, there are several representative rooms of trapeze shape with restored stucco ceilings. The wooden bridge reminds of the ancient collapsible bridge; the circular moat was only preserved in a concept. The restored portal of the fortress is unique. The surrounding park was realized according to a project of prof. ing. Jiří Maleček. There is a walking circle in the park, over half a kilometre long. The surroundings of the fortress are enlivened by four statues of academic sculptress Ellen Jilemnická, depicting the four seasons of the year, named Year’s Metamorphoses.