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Attractions along the Carpathians
Transylvania / Romania

Catherine Gate, Katherinentor

Poarta Ecaterinei
Catherine Gate, Katherinentor
Poarta Ecaterinei
Brasov Poarta Ecaterina
Andrei kokelburg, CC BY-SA 3.0 RO, via Wikimedia Commons
Original function:
town gate
Current function:
town gate
Historical Hungarian county:
Brassó
Country:
Romania
GPS coordinates:
45.6395120253, 25.5860858708
Google map:

History

The Katalin Gate (Romanian: Poarta Ecaterinei, German: Katherinentor) was one of the, and for a long time the only, south-western town gate of Brassó. For nearly three centuries, it was the only passage through the double wall that separated the town fortress from Bolgárszeg. Today, only the ornate outer gate tower remains; many people mistakenly call it the gate. In reality, the town gate was a large fortified complex similar to the gates of the northeastern town wall, which was demolished in 1827.

In Latin documents, it is called porta sanctae Katherinae; its name is borrowed from the neighbouring Catherine's Court. This was in the south-west of the fortress, south of the Black Church, and was the site of the Cistercian monastery and its 13th-century chapel of St Catherine. It was also known as the Vlavh Gate (porta Valacha, Wallachischen Tor), as the Vlachs living in Bolgárszeg were only allowed to enter the town through this gate.

The gate of the south-western town wall was probably built together with the first town walls of Brassó at the end of the 14th century, but it is only mentioned for the first time in 1517. It was known as the Holy Spirit Gate (porta corporis Christi), named after the chapel of the Holy Spirit (Corpus Christi) in the vicinity of the Orphanage Street (then called Holy Spirit Street). In 1522, the name Catherine's Gate (portula sanctae Katherinae) appears, probably referring to a small gate for pedestrians.

On August 24, 1526, a downpour caused a flood in the town, after which "even inside the Black Church fish could be caught", and the gate was destroyed. The construction of the new Catherine Gate was then begun; the first mention of the construction of the outer gate tower is found in town records in 1558, and the work was completed on 17 September 1559.

In October 1600, the Vlach from Bolgárszeg besieged the south-western walls, while Voivode Mihai Viteazul of Wallachia attacked Brassó from the north-east. The town's defenders repulsed both Vlach attacks, and the rift between the Saxons and the Vlach of Bolgárszeg deepened. In 1644, a decree was passed to close the gate at night even in peacetime, and to open it only on request and in justified cases. The gate was damaged by the fires of 1689 and the earthquake of 1738, but was later repaired. In 1759 it burned again and the water mill in front of the gate was destroyed by the flames.

In 1820 the Horse Market Gate was built, and in 1827 the Orphanage Street Gate, which took over the role of the Catherine Gate.

In 1827 it was demolished, except for the outer gate tower, and the gate tower was converted into a warehouse, and the opening was walled up. After the demolition of the walls, public buildings were erected on both sides of the gate tower (Lutheran girls' school, kindergarten). In 1955 the gate tower was reopened, and between 1971 and 1973 Günter Schuller restored it to its former glory and created a park in front of it. Inside, an exhibition of the Chamber of Architects can be seen.

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