Guard Stones: Warsaw

Warsaw’s remaining guard stones differ quite a bit from those that can be found in Lviv and Galicia. I am especially fond of the ones that look like gnomes. For well over a century, these little old men have remained on duty, protecting the walls behind them from damage by carriages.  […]

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Guard Stones of Lviv: Protecting the City’s Corners

Guard stones are exterior architectural elements made of metal, stone, or concrete located at the corners of entryways, carriage driveways, or gateways to protect walls from carriage wheel damage. Once an important element of the horse-drawn transportation infrastructure, guard stones have become largely obsolete as cars do not pose the […]

Guard Stones: Prague

A sampling of guard stones from Prague:

Guard Stones: Stockholm

A sampling of Stockholm’s various kinds of guard stones. Stone Cannon Pipes Finding these only confirmed that the cannon that I saw in Riga were indeed used as guard stones Next to this cannon is a rune stone, which is 1,000 years old. More info about it here. Metal

Remnants of the Past in Linz

Boot Scrapers Conscriptions Numbers Guard Stones Various

Remnants of the Past in Klosterneuburg

Traces of the past in Klosterneuburg, an ancient town right outside of Vienna. Boot Scraper Guard Stones Hoisting Beam for Lifting Goods Building Number and Conscription Number Metal Shutter

Guard Stones: Vienna

Vienna has a lot of guard stones, as do probably all old European cities and towns. Most that I found were made of stone, but I also found some metal ones. In the medieval center stone is more common, while metal barriers are common for newer buildings. Looks as though […]

Reusing Old Cannon in Riga: My Attempt to Solve a Mystery

At first I thought these were guard stones, but then I realized their placement is not very typical for guard stones, which were placed at the corners of entranceways to protect the corners of the buildings from the wheels of carriages. Later I was told they are actually old cannon, […]

Guard Stones in Riga

A sampling of guard stones from Riga, Latvia. Btw, cannon are also used as guard stones in Riga.

Guard Stones in Tallinn

A sampling of guard stones in Tallinn, Estonia.

Lublin’s Guard Stones

From 1795-1803 Lublin was part of New Galicia, a short-lived administrative region of the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy. In 1803 it was merged with the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, but retained some autonomy. In 1809 Austria lost this territory, and in 1815 it became part of Congress Poland. A sampling of Lublin’s […]