Its location on a site that in itself gave the town natural defensive advantages meant that it did not need to be as imposing as other parts of the fortifications. The present, fairly simple form of the Prisoners’ Tower is the result of 15th-century rebuilding, although the first structure stood here as early as the turn of the 14th century.
The characteristic crenellation – the toothed top of the walls – was not added until the 19th century. Before that the Tower had a roof and for some time was even used as living quarters. Over time its function changed, and the building came to be associated above all with a jail for prisoners. This is where its name comes from. Adjoining the Prisoners’ Tower, and thus the town walls, is a brick defensive gallery supported on arcades.
A casemate – a vaulted defensive chamber. Its presence is a reminder that Stargard’s medieval fortifications were not just a series of tall towers, but a whole, carefully designed defence system.
