Nordertor im Schnee (Flensburg, Januar 2014)

The Nordertor ( da, Nørreport) is an old

town gate A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in Flensburg,

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, which was built around 1595. Today the landmark is used as a symbol for Flensburg.

History

The

town wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

of Flensburg was built step by step from 1345 onwards. A town gate, named ''Norder Porte'', was built in the northern section of the wall. At the end of the 16th century it was replaced by the Nordertor, a building with stepped gables and archway. At this time the Nordertor marked the northern

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of the town. It was a checkpoint that was closed at night. On the north face of the gate are two plaques. The left one bears the royal coat of arms of King

Christian IV Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian monar ...

, 1577-1648 and the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

words: ''Regna Firmat Pietas'' — Piety strengthens the Realm. The right one bears the coat of arms of Flensburg with the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

words: ''Friede ernährt, Unfrieden verzehrt'' —

Peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

nurtures, strife devours. Also to be seen is the date of renovation, inscribed as "Renov. 1767". The town gate was restored in the time of

Christian VII Christian VII (29 January 1749 – 13 March 1808) was a monarch of the House of Oldenburg who was King of Denmark–Norway and Duke of Duchy of Schleswig, Schleswig and Duchy of Holstein, Holstein from 1766 until his death in 1808. For his motto ...

, 1749-1808. The left plaque is most likely the older of the two, possibly from the time when the Nordertor was built. In 1796 a ban on building outside the town walls ended, and the town began to expand beyond. The suburb of Neustadt (Danish: ''Nystaden'', meaning ''Newtown'') was built in the neighborhood of the Nordertor. In 1913/14 the gate was restored by the

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Paul Ziegler Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

, and a clock was installed. In 1966 the

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issued a 30

Pfennig The 'pfennig' (; . 'pfennigs' or ; symbol pf or ₰) or penny is a former German coin or note, which was the official currency from the 9th century until the introduction of the euro in 2002. While a valuable coin during the Middle Ages, ...

stamp with the gate's image. Over 3 billion of these stamps for letter post were sold. In the 1990s the gate was again restored and the clock was removed. In 2004 the gate was licensed as a venue for

civil wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriag ...

s, so that weddings are now performed in a room above the archway of the gate.Heinz Taufel, Kay Wohlsen: ''Flensburg'', Glossary: Nordertor Blick vom ehemaligen Standort Norderporten in die Richtung zum Nordertor.JPG, View from the original site of the ''Norder Porte'' to the Nordertor today Wappen auf dem Nordertor.JPG, The coats of arms and the mottos File:Nordertor (1972).jpg, The Nordertor 1972 Flensburg-staedtische-strassenbahn-tw-35-725647.jpg, Flensburg's tramway in front of the Nordertor in 1972

References

{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Flensburg Landmarks in Germany Gates in Germany Fortifications in Germany