Pevnost

Pevnost, in Czech and Slovak, means fortress or fortification. It refers to a fortified place designed to withstand attacks and to control surrounding territory. The term is used for both military installations and for the broader system of defenses surrounding a settlement. Etymology traces back to a Slavic root meaning firm or strong, reflected in related words such as pevný in Czech.

Historically, pevnosti evolved from prehistoric fortified settlements and Roman military camps to medieval walled towns and castles. With the advent of gunpowder and artillery, fortifications became more complex and the bastioned, star-fort designs of the early modern period dominated, combining thick earthworks, angled walls, and outworks to resist cannon fire and siege methods.

Architectural features commonly associated with pevnosti include walls or ramparts with towers, fortified gates, moats or ditches, earthworks, bastions, glacis, ravelins, casemates, and magazines. Some pevnosti were designed as military towns or citadels that could sustain a garrison and provide a base for operations, while others protected important routes, borders, ports, or supply lines. Fortifications could be permanent or seasonal, and many were adapted over centuries to changing technology and tactics.

Today pevnosti are often preserved as cultural heritage, museums, or memorials, illustrating historical defense and engineering. In wider usage, pevnost can also denote strength or resilience in metaphorical contexts. See also fortress, fortification, castle, citadel, bastion, star fort.