The Rediscovered Fisherman’s Gate and Gothic Fore-gate in the Possonia Mural Painting in Florence

The Fisherman’s Gate (Rybárska brána) was built in the 14th century as a simple tower-gate, slightly protruding from the city walls. Although it is considered to be the youngest city gate, it was incorporated in the original design of city walls, which is also verified by the medieval town planning. In the first half of the 15th century, as a response to the development of gunnery, a protruding fore-gate with rectangular ground plan was built in front of the gate. The corners of the fore-gate were reinforced by towers with a diameter of 1.8m, crowned with protruded bays and gallery. The plinth was built of carefully shaped blocks, with a line of bevelled blocks on the top. This appearance of the Fisherman’s Gate can be seen in the 1653 historical veduta of the town by Hans Mayer and the unique mural painting POSSONIA at the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. The mural painting depicting historical Bratislava, which is located in the first courtyard of the palace (the so-called Cortile di Michelozzo), is part of the cycle of views of 14 cities of the Habsburg monarchy, commissioned in 1565 by Cosimo de’Medici for the wedding between his son Francesco and Giovanna d’Austria, daughter of Ferdinand I of Habsburg. The archaeological survey in 2001 revealed surprisingly well preserved remnants of the Gothic fore-gate of Fisherman’s Gate. Uncovered murals represent the most valuable part of the fore-gate, which is a unique example of 15th century Gothic fortification architecture in Slovakia. The construction with a rectangular ground plan had two towers on the corners and a drawbridge in the middle. It was built in the area of a 6m deep moat. In 1529 the main gate was walled up due to the Turkish threat, and the only way to enter the town was through a small gate for the pedestrians and over a wooden bridge of which only the piles have been preserved. In 1756, the Fisherman’s Gate together with the fore-gate were renovated and renamed as the Gate of Empress Maria Theresa. In 1776, at the empress’s command, the gate was torn down. In the context of other remains of city fortification, the uniqueness of the fore-gate consists in the quality of the type of Gothic fortification architecture that has not been applied to any other city gate. This effort is definitely linked with grandiose plans of Sigismund of Luxemburg, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and Bohemia, to make Bratislava (Possonia) a capital of his empire. High and slender towers considerably differ from im