Georg Carolides of Carlsberg - Poem Žatec - Priestly Gate / Knežská brána - Žatec (North-West Bohemia)
N 50° 19.872 E 013° 32.545
33U E 396260 N 5576471
One of Žatec historic landmarks, Gothic Priestly Gate (Knežská brána), is decorated with etched Latin poem celebrating town by XVIth century court poet Georg Carolides of Carlsberg.
Waymark Code: WM12HNA
Location: Ústecký kraj, Czechia
Date Posted: 05/31/2020
Views: 18
One of Žatec historic landmarks, Gothic Priestly Gate (Knežská brána), is decorated with etched Latin poem celebrating town by XVIth century court poet Georg Carolides of Carlsberg.
On the inner side of the Gate, towards the Dean's Church, there is a etched isncription in Latin - a short poem celebrating the town Žatec. The author of the poem is the famous court poet of the Holy Roman Emperor and Czech king Rudolf II., Czech humanist Jirí Carolides z Karlsperka (Georg Carolides of Carlsberg; April 11, 1569, Prague - October 21, 1612, Prague).
Latin text:
Žaca, alias inter Czechi felicior urbes,
Tot, sine claude tua, hostiles experta tumultus
Omni invicta tuis sta florida turribus aevo,
Et stabis florens, dum Jovae immobile Verbum
Grata tuas intra fidenti pectore Portas
Pro Munimento vitaeque urbisque tenebis.
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Corresponding text in Czech (translate by Jan Mareš, 2003):
Žatci, ty štastnejší jsi nad všechna Cechie mesta.
Kolik již bez újmy své prestál jsi neprátel bourí!
Na veky vítezne stuj a rozkvétej dál ve svých vežích.
Rozkvet tvuj potrvá tenkrát, když k ochrane mesta a žití
Trvale ve svých zdech a v hlubine verného srdce
S vdecností, láskou a díky dál budeš ctít slovo Boží.
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Corresponding text in English (only "crude" translation, not in poetic form):
Zatec, you are happier than all Czech towns.
How many times without harm you resist enemy storms!
Forever victoriously stand and flourish in your towers.
Your prosperity will last when you protect the town and live
Permanently in its walls and in the depths of a faithful heart
With gratitude, love, and thanks, you will honor the word of God.
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From the middle of the 13th century, the town of Žatec was fortified with massive Gothic walls with four advanced defensive towers. They also allowed entry into the Royal Town of Žatec. The walls hindered the further development of the city and so they were gradually demolished during the 19th century. Of the four city gates, only two have survived - the Priestly Gate and the Libocany Gate (Libocanská branka).
The gate is a passable five-storey tower with an irregular floor plan, which is influenced by its situation in the terrain and the main wall. It was probably built around 1360. The total height of the tower on the east side is 17.5 m. A characteristic feature of the main façade of the gate is a high angled depression, in the side grooves of which a chained lattice, the so-called "comb", was pulled out or lowered. The efficiency of the comb was multiplied by a double-wing gate-doors located behind this portal. In the site of the side buttress, a house originally stood directly on the walls, today's road was broken before the middle of the 19th century.