Abstract
From the perspective of the General Theory of Fighting Arts and the knowledge of defensive architecture and history, selected examples ofmedieval art of fortifications were shown. The author posed two problem questions: 1) What are the connections between the General Theory of Fighting Arts and the knowledge of defensive architecture? 2) How is this cultural heritage treated today? The defensive castles, as a manifestation of knightly culture, are an interesting topic of hoplological research, as well as from the perspective of the General Theory of Fighting Arts and the broadly understood anthropology of martial arts. The considerations were based on several categories of sources and literature on the subject. It was found that the knowledge of war (the art of war), including the defense of one’s own and the capture of enemy fortifications, resulted in the combined teaching of technology and engineering, combat tactics and defensive architecture. Historically, these relationships occur. At present, however, wooden and stonecastles are the national and cultural heritage of humanity, similarly to traditional martial arts. The castles are currently used especially in tourism, museology, and sometimes also in the hotel industry, as a component of landscape architecture and interesting anthropogenic space.