Water Gate (Wismar)
The water gate in Wismar on the waterway in the north-west of the historic city center is a port gate of the Hanseatic city in the brick Gothic style and the last surviving of the five city gates of the Wismar city fortifications. The road leading to it is called Spiegelberg. It was also the only beach or harbor gate through which you could get directly from the harbor into the city. The others, all land gates, were the Poeler Tor or Haraldstor in the north (high gate tower with defense core, named after the island of Poel ), furthermore the Mecklenburg Gate (high gate tower with defense core) in the south, the Lübsche Tor (similar to the water gate since 1699 Triangular gable, originally distinctive high gate tower) in the west as well as the Altwismartor or Rostocker Tor (stepped gable gate building with roof attachment, onion roof and lantern) as a counterpart in the east, each at the end of the street of the same name. To the south of the water gate there was still a “water gate” as a wall passage for the pit , an east-west running artificial arm of water from the 13th century and in the south-east a wind gate .
Building description and history
The water gate was built in 1450 at the end of the Gothic period. It has an ogival, comparatively large passage, above which there is a square tower with a gable roof. The city and the harbor are crowned by a gable . A stepped gable with battlements rises on the city side and has six narrow blind arches . There are narrow, high light passages on three floors. There is a white band above the archway. The port-side gable has had a triangular shape since a renovation in 1600. In its upper section there are three rather wide blind arches and four windows above the passage.
On both sides of the gate you can find two coats of arms above the pointed arches, on the field or port side, both inclined inward, on the left the split city coat of arms with half the Mecklenburg bull's head in front and the four silver-red-silver-red bars of the city colors on the back, right the old city coat of arms with the four bars of the city colors (heraldic: divided three times by silver and red). This can be found, today without inclination, on both sides of the city side of the gate. In the past, the arrangement of the coat of arms was like on the harbor side.
In the course of the industrial development of Wismar in the second half of the 19th century, the city wall, wall towers and city gates were demolished with the exception of a few remains. In addition to the water gate, the old water tower is another relic of the Wismar city fortifications.
Today the water gate is the seat of the Club maritim association .
Web links
Coordinates: 53 ° 53 ′ 47 " N , 11 ° 27 ′ 40.7" E