Teynhof
The Týnhof ( Týnský dvůr or Týn in Czech ) in Prague's Old Town , also called Ungelt , is one of the most historically important places in the city. The building complex was built in the 11th or 12th century. It was originally a fortified trading yard, where traders passing through found shelter and accommodation and had to declare their goods. The area is protected as a cultural monument of the Czech Republic .
Surname
The word teyn is probably of Celtic origin and used to refer to a fortress or a fenced place in Czech . The old word otýniti meant to fence. The German word Zaun and the English town developed from the same stem .
history
Archaeological excavations in the 1980s and 1990s showed that there had been a fenced-in commercial yard here since the 12th century at the latest. Older literature indicates the 10th century and justifies it with the assumption that the Arab-Jewish merchant Ibrahim Ibn Jakub stopped by at the Teynhof. In his travelogue from the year 965 Ibrahim Ibn Jakub mentions the Prague trading center and writes that merchants can find good and cheap accommodation for themselves and their pack animals here. The Prague market is the largest in the Slavic countries.
The homestead was separated from the city by a protective wall and a moat and had a gate in the east and west. It was under the protection of the Bohemian ruler and offered the traveling traders from foreign countries not only accommodation but also storage rooms for their valuable goods and stables for their horses. In the 12th century a hospital was added, one of the oldest in the city, and the Romanesque church of the Virgin Mary , forerunner of today's Tyn Church . The foreign traders had to register and declare all their goods here “for money”, from which the Middle High German term “Ungelt” for customs is derived. Customs duties were strictly controlled. Traders who tried to bypass the Zollhof risked confiscation of their goods. Old records show that merchants from many European and also Arab countries brought large quantities of goods into the city. These included metals such as gold, silver, copper or tin, as well as amber, saltpeter, salt, tools, linen, wool or valuable silk fabrics, carpets and furs. Food was also offered for sale, such as fruit and drinks from the south and dried or smoked fish.
Craftsmen soon settled in Ungelt, and wealthy Prague citizens built their houses around the courtyard. Life was brisk in Ungelt. In the adjacent inns, travelers met not only with each other, but also with the citizens of the city. They reported about their travels and brought news from distant lands. That is why Ungelt was also called "laeta curia" ( the funny court ).
The Teynhof experienced its heyday - like the entire city - at the time of kings Charles IV and Wenceslaus IV. Due to the Hussite Wars , the Prague customs privilege lost its importance and after that Prague no longer achieved its former position as a trading center. In the 15th century, the customs office in Ungelt only served Prague trade. In the 18th century the customs office moved to Haštalská Street and the Teynhof fell into disrepair.
Archaeological investigations were carried out from 1978, and in 1981 a comprehensive reconstruction of the entire area began. After its completion, Ungelt was opened to the public on December 18, 1996. Today there are smaller shops, art galleries, cafes and the small chamber theater divadlo Ungelt .
architecture
Today's Ungelt area comprises 18 houses. They form an architectural unit, even if their architectural styles come from very different epochs. The entire area is protected as a cultural monument of the Czech Republic. Most of the houses have baroque facades, which were created after the great fire of 1689. The inner courtyard is still accessible today through the two original gates. Coming from the Old Town Square you can get to Ungelt through the narrow Týnská alley and the gate in the Granov Palace, coming from the east through a gate on Malá Štupartská Street .
The most historically valuable building in Ungelt is the Granov Palace ( palác Granovských ). It is one of the oldest and best preserved Renaissance houses in Prague. In 1558, King Ferdinand I handed the house over to the manager of Ungeld, Jakob Granovský von Granov. In 1560 he had it converted into a two-story Renaissance palace with an open arcaded loggia on the first floor. The rich wall paintings in the courtyard depict biblical and mythological scenes. The portal bears the year 1560 and the coat of arms of the Granovský family. The sgraffito above the portal to Týnská Street probably shows Ferdinand I on the left and Jakob Granovský on the right.
literature
- František Ruth: Kronika královské Prahy a obcí sousedních (= chronicle of the royal city of Prague and the neighboring towns ). Pavel Körber, Prague 1904, p. 1057-1060 (Czech, 1246 pp., Digitalniknihovna.mlp.cz [accessed November 11, 2019]).
- Zikmund Winter: V ohradě měst a městských zdech . Svazek 7. Kapitola: V kupeckém Týně . Otto, Prague 1914, p. 117-134 (Czech, digitalniknihovna.mlp.cz [accessed November 11, 2019]).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Celnice Ungelt , Národní památkový ústav, accessed on November 11, 2019.
- ^ František Ruth: Kronika královské Prahy a obcí sousedních (= chronicle of the royal city of Prague and the neighboring towns ). Pavel Körber, Prague 1904, p. 1057 (Czech, 1246 p., Digitalniknihovna.mlp.cz [accessed November 11, 2019]).
- ↑ Friedrich Wigger: Report by Ibrahîm ibn Jakûb on the Slavs from the year 973. Retrieved on November 11, 2019.
- ↑ divadlo Ungelt
Web links
- teynhof-ungelt on the tourism portal of the city of Prague, accessed on November 11, 2019.
- Ungrateful . Retrieved November 11, 2019.
- divadlo Ungelt
Coordinates: 50 ° 5 ′ 17 ″ N , 14 ° 25 ′ 25 ″ E