Description of the attraction
The rectangular Lazennaya (translated from Polish - Sanatornaya) donjon tower is called the Hungry Tower by the locals. Its official name comes from the nearby hospital. But this name did not take root in colloquial speech.
Once a 20-meter tower, but now increased by 15 meters, the tower in the Middle Ages was part of the city gate. It was erected in 1487 and performed several tasks at once: it served as a watchtower, was a defensive structure and a checkpoint to the city. The third city gate and the tower above it were built to better connect with the suburbs of Zielona Gora. Through them, residents of nearby villages could attend the church of St. Jadwiga.
The gate was originally created right in the tower. But its small width (5.4 m) interfered with the normal passage of people. Some scholars even believe that the tower passage was destroyed. In the third quarter of the 15th century, an independent gate was built next to the tower, which is called New. The passage in the tower is walled up. Now you can see masonry in this place, which is different in color from the rest of the bricks.
It was now possible to get into the premises of the tower only through the passage in the New Gate. For some time in the tower there was a rest room for the guards, and then a well-fortified prison for the guilty.
At first, the donjon tower was crowned with a tent-shaped dome, which in 1717 was replaced by a baroque roof, decorated with a small graceful superstructure. Since then, the height of the tower has reached 35 meters.
In 1810 the town of Zielona Gora lost its New Gate. Fortunately, the Sanatorium Tower has survived, although attempts have been made to dismantle it more than once.
