The Türkentor (''Turks' Gate'') is a

triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, cro ...

and gateway in Helmstedt in Lower Saxony in Germany. The main entrance to the former

St. Ludger's Abbey St. Ludger's Abbey (german: Kloster St. Ludgeri) was a former monastery of the Benedictine Order in Helmstedt, Lower Saxony, founded by Saint Ludger around 800. Until it was secularised in 1802 it was an Imperial Abbey, with sovereignty over the ...

and a gateway to the Domänenhof, the arch was built in 1716 to celebrate the victory over the Ottomans by Prince Eugene of Savoy at the

Battle of Petrovaradin The Battle of Petrovaradin also known as the Battle of Peterwardein, took place on 5 August 1716 during the Austro-Turkish War when the Ottoman army besieged the Habsburgs-controlled fortress of Petrovaradin on the Military Frontier of the Hab ...

earlier that year, in which

Ferdinand Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Ferdinand Albert (German ''Ferdinand Albrecht''; 29 May 1680 (O.S.), Bevern – 2 September 1735 (O.S.), Salzdahlum), Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, was an officer in the army of the Holy Roman Empire. He was prince of Wolfenbüttel during 173 ...

and

Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg Marshal Johann Matthias Reichsgraf von der Schulenburg (8 August 1661 – 14 March 1747) was a German aristocrat and general of Brandenburg-Prussian background who served in the Saxon and Venetian armies in the early 18th century and found a seco ...

had also been instrumental. Originally sited in line with the Taubenhaus on what is now Bundesstraße 1, it was severely damaged by bombing in the Second World War and resited to its present location in 1986. The main pediment bears the arms of the Habsburg emperor and the side-arches bear the arms of the abbey's abbot and prior, who had the arch built in celebration of the victory, of family connections to the House of Brunswick and of links between the abbey and the emperor. The architrave also bears the Roman numerals for the year 1716 and above the double

pilaster In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...

s on either side are a sun (symbol of the Habsburg Empire) and a crescent moon (symbol of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

External links

* http://www.helmstedt-citytour.de/html/turkentor.html Buildings and structures completed in 1716 Gates in Germany Triumphal arches in Germany Buildings and structures in Helmstedt (district) Rebuilt buildings and structures in Germany {{LowerSaxony-struct-stub