The Hunger Wall () is a medieval defensive wall of the Lesser Town of

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, today's

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. It was built on

Petřín Hill Petřín () is a hill in the centre of Prague, Czech Republic. It rises 327 m above sea level and some 130 m above the left bank of the Vltava River. The hill, almost entirely covered with parks, is a favorite recreational area for the inhabit ...

between 1360 and 1362 by order of Charles IV.

Marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, Clay minerals, clays, and silt. When Lithification, hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. M ...

from quarries on Petřín Hill was used as construction material. The purpose of the construction was to strengthen the fortifications of

Prague Castle Prague Castle (; ) is a castle complex in Prague, Czech Republic serving as the official residence and workplace of the president of the Czech Republic. Built in the 9th century, the castle has long served as the seat of power for List of rulers ...

and

Malá Strana Malá Strana ( Czech for "Little Side (of the River)", ) or historically Menší Město pražské () is a district of the city of Prague, Czech Republic, and one of its most historic neighbourhoods. In the Middle Ages, it was a dominant center o ...

against any attack from the west or south. Originally the wall was 4 to 4.5 metres high and 1.8 metres wide and was equipped with

battlement A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...

s and (probably) eight

bastion A bastion 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 fire from the ...

s. The wall was repaired in 1624, further strengthened in the middle of 18th century and repaired or modified several times later (in modern era in 1923-25 and 1975). One of preserved bastions serves as a base for the dome of Štefánik Observatory. A well preserved part of the wall may also be found in the interior yard of the 19th-century house in Plaská Street No.8.

The name and associated myths

The wall was originally called ''Zubatá'' (toothed) or ''Chlebová'' (built for bread). The adjective ''Hladová'' (hungry) appeared after a 1361

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenom ...

, when the construction works on the wall provided livelihood for the city's poor. According to

myth Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

, the purpose of the wall was not strategic but to employ and thus feed the poor. Another myth, recorded in writings of

Václav Hájek z Libočan Wenceslaus Hájek of Libočany (, , ; late 15th century – 18 March 1553) was a Bohemian chronicler. He was author of famous '' Bohemian Chronicle'' (1541), also called the ''Hájek's Chronicle''. This work served as the main source of Czech histo ...

Bohuslav Balbín Bohuslav Balbín (3 December 1621 – 29 November 1688) was a Czech writer, historian, geographer and Jesuit, called the "Czech Pliny". He became well known also as an advocate of the Czech language in the time of incoming germanization of the ...

, is that the Emperor Charles IV himself worked on the wall several hours every day "to help his beloved people".

Sources

* Julius Košnář: ''Staropražské pověsti a legendy'' (= Myths and legends from old Prague). Vincentinum, Praha 1933, Chapter: O Hladové zdi, p. 268 (Czech
available online
.
Hladová zeď
on turistika.cz (in Czech)
Hladová zeď
on praguecityline.cz (in Czech) Buildings and structures completed in 1362 Buildings and structures in Prague Walls Petřín {{CzechRepublic-struct-stub