The gun tower, which has a round shape, encloses the east side and the north belt of the Prague Castle’s rampart. It was built in 1496 but removed in 1790 after a fire devastated the tower in 1781. The interior of the tower gained its present day appearance 1965. The height from the base to the top of the tower is 20.7m.
The name “Daliborka” was given to the tower after the first prisoner, Dalibor from Kozojedy, as the tower was used as a prison from the beginning. The upper floors were for the prisoners who committed misdemeanours. The space was heated and divided with wooden partitions in the cells. The basement area was designated for especially hardened criminals.
The most famous prisoner staying in Daliborka was arguably Dalibor from Kozojedy, surprise, surprise. His stay in the prison is the source of many a story. When the rising of the serfs broke out in the Litoměřice district, the people took the stronghold of their master Adam Ploskovský from Drahonice and under threat of death made him release them from their bondage. Then they hid at the estate of Dalibor from Kozojedy, who offered them a refuge. The municipal court decided to put Dalibor in prison as they ruled that he had committed a terrible crime against the legal system which had impeached upon the rights of the ruling class. Dalibor from Kozojedy was put in jail in the tower and sentenced to death by decapitation. The sentence (and thus Dalibor!) was executed in the courtyard in front of the Daliborka tower.
The tower is open to the public and accessible from the east end of Golden Lane.
