Holstentor

The Holstentor ("Holsten Gate") is a late Brick Gothic city gate, the only still existing one beside the Burgtor and part of the medieval fortifications of Lübeck in Germany. It consists of two round towers at the north and the south side with an arched entranceway between them. The building is four stories high. Today it is considered a major landmark of Lübeck. Together with the Altstadt of Lübeck it is an UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.

History

The main gate was erected by the city's Master Builder Hinrich Helmsted between 1464 and 1478. Built in 1585 as the front entrance to the city, the Holstentor design was intended to aid the defence of the city's west side. The original gate was later demolished.

The redesigned version [pictured] was built with insufficient foundation depth. Because the Holstentor was sinking into the ground, the whole structure was in danger of collapse. The subsidence was so severe, that in a 1863 survey, the lowest arrow slits were found 50cm under the ground. The structure was in constant danger of collapse.

It was not until 1871 that the authorities stepped in to try to save it, but it the subsidence continued. A successful refurbishment and stabilisation programme commenced in 1933/34. A similar procedure occurred in 2005/2006.

Since 1950, the Holstentor became a museum dedicated to history of the city it originally protected. In 2002, the museum was significantly modernised. The torture chamber that was installed in the 1950s museum was removed for authenticities sake. Today the museum is managed by the "Kulturstiftung Hansestadt Lübeck".

Miscellaneous

The Holstentor appears on the 2006 version of the special edition German 2 euro coin as well as the former 50 DM banknote.

The gate also appeared as a landmark in the Maxis PC game Simcity 3000.

External links

* [http://www.holstentor.info/english_version/index.html Animated history of Holstentor and Lübeck]
* [http://www.luebeck.de/tourismus_freizeit/sehenswuerdigkeiten/objekte/holst.html The Holstentor on the website of Lübeck] (German Language)
* [http://www.luebeck.de/kultur_bildung/museen/holstentor/index.html The museum on the website of Lübeck] (German Language)