A gord is a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

Slavonic fortified settlement, usually built on strategic sites such as hilltops, riverbanks, lake islets or peninsulas between the 6th and 12th centuries in Central and

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

. A typical gord consisted of a group of wooden houses surrounded by a wall made of earth and wood, and a

palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a row of closely placed, high vertical standing tree trunks or wooden or iron stakes used as a fence for enclosure or as a defensive wall. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymo ...

running along the top of the bulwark.

Etymology

The term ultimately descends from the reconstructed

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. No direct record of Proto-Indo-European exists; its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-Euro ...

root '' ǵʰortós'' 'enclosure'. The

Proto-Slavic Proto-Slavic (abbreviated PSl., PS.; also called Common Slavic or Common Slavonic) is the unattested, reconstructed proto-language of all Slavic languages. It represents Slavic speech approximately from the 2nd millennium BC through the 6th ...

word ''*gordъ'' later differentiated into grad (

Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...

: град), gorod (Cyrillic: город), gród in Polish, gard in Kashubian, etc. It is the root of various words in modern

Slavic language The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic, spoken during the Ear ...

s pertaining to fences and fenced-in areas (Belarusian гарадзіць, Ukrainian городити, Slovak ohradiť, Czech ohradit, Russian оградить,

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian ( / ), also known as Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS), is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. It is a pluricentric language with four mutually i ...

ograditi, and Polish ogradzać, grodzić, to fence off). It also has evolved into words for a

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

in certain languages. Additionally, it has furnished numerous modern Slavic words for a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

: * Polish ''gród'', plural ''grody'' (toponymic; nowadays a town or city is termed ''miasto'', but remnants of a ''gród'' are known as ''grodzisko'') * Ancient Pomeranian and modern Kashubian ''gard'' * Slovak and

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

''hrad'' ("castle" in the modern language), or ''hradisko/hradiště/hradec'', which are terms for gord * Slovene ''gradec'', ''grad'' ("castle" in modern Slovene) * Belarusian (horad) * Russian (gorod) * Ukrainian (''horod'', dialectal and toponymic; nowadays ''misto'') * Bulgarian,

, and Macedonian ''grad''/ The names of many Central and Eastern European cities harken back to their pasts as gords. Some of them are in countries which once were but no longer are mainly inhabited by Slavic-speaking peoples. Examples include: * Horodok * Gorod (toponymy) * Hrod (toponymy) * Hrud * Horod * Hrad (toponymy) * Gard (Slavic toponymy) * Grod (toponymy) *

Grad (toponymy) Grad () is an Proto-Slavic, Old Slavic word meaning "town", "city", "castle" or "fortified settlement". Initially present in all related languages as ''Gord (archaeology), gord'', it can still be found as ''grad'', ''gradić'', ''horod'' or Gorod ...

Thunau am Kamp Reconstructed Slavic gatehouse 03

The words in Polish and Slovak for ''suburbium'', ''podgrodzie'' and ''podhradie'' correspondingly, literally mean a settlement beneath a gord: the ''gród''/''hrad'' was frequently built at the top of a hill, and the ''podgrodzie''/''podhradie'' at its foot. (The Slavic prefix ''pod-'', meaning "under/below" and descending from the Proto-Indo-European root '' pṓds,'' meaning foot, being equivalent to Latin ''sub-''). The word survives in the names of several villages ( Podgrodzie, Subcarpathian Voivodeship) and town districts (e.g., that of

Olsztyn Olsztyn ( , ) is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with powiat rights, city with county rights. The population of the city was estimated at 169,793 residents Olsz ...

), as well as in the names of the German municipalities Puttgarden, Wagria and Putgarten,

Rügen Rügen (; Rani: ''Rȯjana'', ''Rāna''; , ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic ci ...

. From this same Proto-Indo-European root come the Germanic word elements *''gard'' and *''gart'' (as in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

), and likely also the names of

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and Gartz,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Cognate to these are English words such as ''garden'', ''yard'', ''garth'', ''girdle'' and ''court.'' Also cognate but less closely related are Latin ''hortus'', a garden, and its English descendant ''horticulture''. In Hungarian, ''kert'', the word for a garden, literally means ''encircled''. Because Hungarian is a Uralic rather than an

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...

language, this is likely a

loanword A loanword (also a loan word, loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language (the recipient or target language), through the process of borrowing. Borrowing is a metaphorical term t ...

. Further afield, in

ancient Iran The history of Iran (also known as Name of Iran, Persia) is intertwined with Greater Iran, which is a socio-cultural region encompassing all of the areas that have witnessed significant settlement or influence exerted by the Iranian peoples and ...

, a fortified wooden settlement was called a ''gerd'', or ''certa'', which also means garden (as in the suffix ''-certa'' in the names of various ancient Iranian cities; e.g., ''Hunoracerta''). The Persian word evolved into ''jerd'' under later

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

influence. Burugerd or Borujerd is a city in the west of Iran. The Indian suffix ''-garh'', meaning a

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

, and other

Indo-Iranian languages The Indo-Iranian languages (also known as Indo-Iranic languages or collectively the Aryan languages) constitute the largest branch of the Indo-European language family. They include over 300 languages, spoken by around 1.7 billion speakers ...

, appears in many Indian place names. Given that both Slavic and Indo-Iranian are sub-branches of Indo-European and that there are numerous similarities between Slavic and

vocabulary, it is plausible that ''garh'' and ''gord'' are related. However, this is strongly contradicted by the phoneme /g/ in Indo-Iranian, which cannot be a reflex of the Indo-European palatovelar /*ǵ/.

Construction

A typical gord was a group of wooden houses built either in rows or in circles, surrounded by one or more rings of walls made of earth and wood, a

, and/or

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

s. Some gords were ring-shaped, with a round, oval, or occasionally polygonal fence or wall surrounding a hollow. Others, built on a natural hill or a man-made mound, were cone-shaped. Those with a natural defense on one side, such as a river or lake, were usually horseshoe-shaped. Most gords were built in densely populated areas on sites that offered particular natural advantages. As Slavic tribes united to form states, gords were also built for defensive purposes in less-populated border areas. Gords in which rulers resided or that lay on trade routes quickly expanded. Near the gord, or below it in elevation, there formed small communities of servants, merchants, artisans, and others who served the higher-ranked inhabitants of the gord. Each such community was known as a ''suburbium'' (literally "undercity") (). Its residents could shelter within the walls of the gord in the event of danger. Eventually the ''suburbium'' acquired its own fence or wall. In the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history between and ; it was preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended according to historiographical convention ...

, the gord usually evolved into a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

citadel A citadel is the most fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of ''city'', meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. ...

kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin (fortification), Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Mosco ...

, and the ''suburbium'' into a

. Some gords did not stand the test of time and were abandoned or destroyed, gradually turning into more or less discernible mounds or rings of earth ( Russian ''gorodishche,'' Polish ''gród'' or ''grodzisko,'' Ukrainian ''horodyshche,'' Slovak ''hradisko,''

''hradiště,'' German ''Hradisch'', Hungarian ''hradis'' and Serbian ''gradiška''/''градишка''). Notable archeological sites include Groß Raden in Germany and Biskupin in Poland.

Important gords in Central and Eastern Europe

Austria

* Thunau am Kamp

Belarus

Grodno Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...

Czech Republic

* Bílina * Budeč * Chotěbuz * Kouřim * Levý Hradec * Libice nad Cidlinou * Libušín * Mikulčice-Valy *

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 ...

* * Stará Boleslav * * Tetín *

Uherské Hradiště Uherské Hradiště (; ) is a town in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 25,000 inhabitants. The agglomeration with the two neighbouring towns of Staré Město (Uherské Hradiště District), Staré Město and Kunovice has over ...

* Vyšehrad (Prague)

Germany

Rügen

* the fort at Cape Arkona – the Jaromarsburg * Garz Castle * the fort of Charenza near Venz in the municipality of Trent * the Herthaburg near the Stubbenkammer in the Jasmund National Park

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

* Mecklenburg Castle in the village of Dorf Mecklenburg near

Wismar Wismar (; ), officially the Hanseatic City of Wismar () is, with around 43,000 inhabitants, the sixth-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and the fourth-largest city of Mecklenburg after Rostock, Schwerin and ...

(origin of the state name) * the fort of Groß Raden near Sternberg * the fort of Behren-Lübchin, partly reconstructed in the Groß Raden Archaeological Open Air Museum * Gädebehn Castle (Gemeinde Knorrendorf) in the county of Mecklenburgische Seenplatte * Ganschendorf Castle (Gemeinde Sarow) in the county of Mecklenburgische Seenplatte * the fort of Grapenwerder (Gemeinde Penzlin) in the county of Mecklenburgische Seenplatte * Quadenschönfeld Castle in the county of Mecklenburgische Seenplatte * Neu Nieköhr Castle (Gemeinde Behren-Lübchin) in the county of

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

* the fort of Neu-Kentzlin (Gemeinde Kentzlin) between

Demmin Demmin () is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, in north-eastern Germany. It was the capital of the former district of Demmin. Geography Demmin lies on the West Pomeranian plain at the confluen ...

und Stavenhagen * Mölln Castle (Gemeinde Mölln (Mecklenburg)) in the county of Mecklenburgische Seenplatte * Möllenhagen Castle (Gemeinde Möllenhagen) in the county of Mecklenburgische Seenplatte * the Ravensburg (Neubrandenburg) * the forts at Kastorfer See near

Neubrandenburg Neubrandenburg (, Low German ''Niegenbramborg'', both lit. ''New Brandenburg an der Havel, Brandenburg'') is a city in the southeast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is located on the shore of a lake called Tollensesee and forms the urban c ...

* the island fort in the Teterower See * the ''Schlossberg'' near Feldberg * the Slavic fort near Menkendorf, a village in the parish of Grebs-Niendorf * Wittenborn Castle ( municipality of Galenbeck) in the county of Mecklenburgische Seenplatte * Kieve Castle in the county of Mecklenburgische Seenplatte * Wulfsahl Castle in the county of

Ludwigslust-Parchim Ludwigslust-Parchim is a district in the west of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The district seat is Parchim, a branch office of the administration is located in Ludwigslust. After Mecklenburgische Seenplatte, it is the second-biggest distri ...

Berlin-Brandenburg

* Brandenburg Castle * Spandau Castle (Berlin) * the Römerschanze near Potsdam * the Reitweiner Wallberge, fortanlage near

Reitwein Reitwein is a municipality in the district Märkisch-Oderland, in Brandenburg, Germany.Mapa Polski 1:500 000 Wojskowy Instytut Geograficzny Sztabu Generalnego W.P., Warszawa 1947 It is located near the border with Poland Poland, officially ...

in the Landkreis Märkisch-Oderland * the Slavic fort of Lübben * the Slavic fort of Raddusch near Vetschau/Spreewald * the Slavic fort of Tornow * Lossow Castle,

Frankfurt (Oder) Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (, ; Central Marchian: ''Frankfort an de Oder,'' ) is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after Potsdam, Cottbus and Brandenburg an der Havel. With around 58,000 inh ...

* the fort near Kliestow

Saxony-Anhalt

* the fort of Altes Dorf in the

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

subdistrict of Pechau * Wust Castle

Schleswig-Holstein

* including: * the fort of the Slavic settlement of Starigard in present-day Oldenburg –

Bavaria

* Rauher Kulm

Poland

* Bnin * Cherven grods *

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

* Giecz *

Gniezno Gniezno (; ; ) is a city in central-western Poland, about east of Poznań. Its population in 2021 was 66,769, making it the sixth-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. The city is the administrative seat of Gniezno County (''powiat'') ...

Grudziądz Grudziądz (, ) is a city in northern Poland, with 92,552 inhabitants (2021). Located on the Vistula River, it lies within the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and is the fourth-largest city in its province. Grudziądz is one of the oldest citie ...

* Grzybowo * Kałdus *

Kołobrzeg Kołobrzeg (; ; ) is a port and spa city in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in north-western Poland with about 47,000 inhabitants (). Kołobrzeg is located on the Parsęta River on the south coast of the Baltic Sea (in the middle of the section ...

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

* Ostrów Lednicki * Owidz *

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

Przemyśl Przemyśl () is a city in southeastern Poland with 56,466 inhabitants, as of December 2023. Data for territorial unit 1862000. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. It was previously the capital of Prz ...

Radom Radom is a city in east-central Poland, located approximately south of the capital, Warsaw. It is situated on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship. Radom is the fifteenth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in its province w ...

* Rozprze *

Starogard Gdański Starogard Gdański (; until 1950: ''Starogard''; formerly ) is a city in Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland with 48,328 inhabitants (2004). Starogard is the capital of Starogard County. Founded in the Middle Ages, Starogard is a city with ...

* Stradów *

Szprotawa Szprotawa is a town in western Poland, in Żagań County, Lubusz Voivodeship. It has 11,820 inhabitants (2019). History The region was part of Poland after the emergence of the Piast monarchy in the 10th century. The first mention of today's Sz ...

Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...

Włocławek Włocławek (; or ''Alt Lesle'', Yiddish: וולאָצלאַוועק, romanized: ''Vlatzlavek'') is a city in the Kuyavian–Pomeranian Voivodeship in central Poland along the Vistula River, bordered by the Gostynin-Włocławek Landscape Park ...

* Wolin *

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

Russia

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

Slovakia

* Ducové

Ukraine

Belz Belz (, ; ; ) is a small city in Lviv Oblast, western Ukraine, located near the border with Poland between the Solokiya River (a tributary of the Bug River) and the Richytsia stream. Belz hosts the administration of Belz urban hromada, one of ...

* Bilhorod-Kyivskyi * Bohuslavl * Buzhsk * Chernihiv * Dorohobuzh *

Halych Halych (, ; ; ; ; , ''Halitsch'' or ''Galitsch''; ) is a historic List of cities in Ukraine, city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. The city gave its name to the Principality of Halych, the historic province of Galicia (Eastern Europe), ...

* Hlukhiv * Horodets Osterskyi * Iskorosten * Kaniv * Korsun *

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

Liubech Liubech ( Ukrainian and Russian: ; ) is a rural settlement in Chernihiv Oblast, northern Ukraine. Liubech is located north of the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv, and located near the border with Belarus. It hosts the administration of Liubech settl ...

* Liuboml * Ltava * Luben * Mezhybozhe *

Novhorod-Siverskyi Novhorod-Siverskyi (, , , ''Novgorod-Severskiy''), historically known as Novhorod-Siversk () or Novgorod-Seversk (), is a historic city in Chernihiv Oblast, northern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Novhorod-Siverskyi Raion, alth ...

* Ostroh * Pereiaslav * Peresopnytsia * Plisnensk * Pryluk *

Putyvl Putyvl (, ; , ) is a city in Sumy Oblast, in north-east Ukraine. The city served as the administrative center of Putyvl Raion until the administrative reform in 2018; now it is under the jurisdiction of Konotop Raion. Population: History One ...

* Romen * Terebovl * Torchesk * Trepol * Unenizh * Vasyliv * Volodymyr * Vruchiy * Vyshhorod * Vyr * Yuriv * Zvenyhorod

References

External links

Reconstruction of a ''gród'' at Grzybowo, Poland
– images of a typical ancient Slavic settlement with ''suburbium'', earth-and-wood wall and moat; by Tomek Birezowski (Polish text) {{Authority control Fortifications by type Early Slavic archaeology Slavic history Slavic architecture Archaeology of Poland Human habitats Gords