VIRTUAL TOUR OF BEROUN

The Prague Gate (Lower Gate)

Beroun Sights and Attractions Museums & Galleries
Being virtually a copy of the Pilsner Gate opposite, the Prague or Lower Gate reinforced the defence system of the city on the eastern side. 
The provincial road from Prague, which crossed the bridge over the Berounka river, led to it. The dimensions of the gate are 10,3 x 9,3 metres and the wall is 2,3 metres thick? It is 27,5 metres high.
The gate was closed using a double-winged gate and, if necessary, using a sliding grid-a comb. A ladder had to be used to climb up to the small entrance portal. Rooms on the floors can be reached via the original staircase within the wall. In the passage arc there is a defensive circular openning and also in the passage there is the entrance to the gate, which was built in the 19th century. The battlement was bricked in and the hip roof was built. 
The gate was seriously damaged several times. Its condition in 1845 was so poor that councillors considered demolishing it. Fortunately, it was merely repaired. The current shape of the gate dates back to 1893.
Rooms in the gate were occupied by the gatekeeper in the Middle Age. Then the municipal prison was situated here and in the 20th century the municipal archive was located here. 
The exhibition gallery of Jiří Jeníček is currently situated here. The gate can be visited during exhibitions held on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
From October to April the gate is closed. Address: V Pražské bráně, Beroun

Municipal Fortifications

Beroun Sights and Attractions
The fortifications of Beroun were built under the reign of Wenceslas II. with a total lenght of 1170 metres. The width of the wall was 2 metres at the foot and 1 metre at the crest. It was topped by an ambit and a wall with battlements.The fortifications were supported by 37 prismatic towers opened to the city. The height of the wall ranged from 9 metres on the north and north-western side of the city to 6,5 metres on the banks of the Berounka and Litavka rivers.
The wall was broken by two tower gates (Prague and Pilsner) and two small gates (portals). The defence system was completed with a 90 cm high bailey wall and a moat. Its depth was up to 8 metres. The city fortifications were renovated in the 16th century due to the increased utilization of fire guns. Bastion were rebuilt and loopholes for muskets were built into the fortification wall. Reconstruction and conservation of the fortifications were gradually performed in the 1990s.

House No. 77, Husovo Square

Beroun Sights and Attractions
The burgher´s house used to be called Máchovna after the name of its owners. The centre of the Beroun Jewish community was here from 1852 to 1939 (a synagogue, Jewish school and the rabbi´s flat). The Jewish school was shut down in 1913.
The building has been the seat of the people´s art school after the WW II. The house was returned to the Jewish Community in Prague in 1994. Address: Husovo náměstí 77, Beroun

U Černého Orla, 79 Husovo Square

Beroun Sights and Attractions
A burgher´s house, since the Middle Age called The Blak Eagle (U Černého orla) according to the inn. Significant guests used to be accommodated here, such as the royal vice-chamberlain. The house was rebuilt in the 2nd half of the 16th century. In 1935 it was reconstructed and the original arched vaulting on the ground floor was removed at the same time. Residues of the Renaissance ceilings on the first floor have been preserved. The house used to have a remarkable hexagonal roundel until 1947, which was replaced by a recess later. Address: Husovo náměstí 79, Beroun

Czech Court

Beroun Sights and Attractions
Samuel Vilém Presl of Švertsberk, the imperial village mayor and Beroun postmaster, built a stone house with an inn-keeping trade in 1720.
Distinguished guests used to be hosted in the inn, bearing the name The Czech Court since its foundation. Stays by Swedish King Gustav IV. in 1804, Austrian Emperor Francis I. in 1810 and 1820 and Russian Czar Alexander I. in 1823 are worth mentioning.
The post office operated in this house until 1845. Address: Husovo náměstí 86, Beroun