Laurinc Gate ( sk, Laurinská brána) was a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

town gate in the historical Old Town of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It was built in the 14th century and demolished by the order of Empress Maria Theresa of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

in the 18th century together with most of the city walls, because the inner walls were limiting the town's growth. It was named after Saint Lawrence. Unlike the

Michael's Gate In Bratislava, Slovakia, Michael's Gate ( sk, Michalská brána, german: Michaelertor, hu, Mihály kapu) is the only city gate that has been preserved of the medieval fortifications and ranks among the oldest town buildings. Built about the yea ...

, the only medieval city gate still standing in Bratislava, Laurinc Gate did not contain a tall tower. Instead, it was a massive square-shaped structure with a long tunnel at the ground floor. There was a water moat in front of it and unlike the sometimes dry moat near

, this one always contained water due to its proximity to the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

and the presence of the mouth of a stream coming down from the

Little Carpathians The Little Carpathians (also: ''Lesser Carpathians'', sk, Malé Karpaty; german: Kleine Karpaten; hu, Kis-Kárpátok) are a low, about 100 km long, mountain range, part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountains are situated in Western Slov ...

mountains. Today, a portcullis hanging over Laurinská Street symbolizes the place of the former Laurinc Gate.

History

Laurinc Gate was constructed together with the oldest parts of the city walls in the second half of the 13th century. Through most of its

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

, Bratislava was known as Pressburg or Pozsony. The gate was continually strengthened and improved over the centuries. Its name comes from a small church that stood directly in front of it (later demolished in the first half of the 16th century. The church, together with its

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

was consecrated to Saint Lawrence ( sk, Svätý Laurinc). He was considered to be the patron of travelers and the name stuck. The first reference to the gate comes from the year 1412.http://jablonovsky.sk/ba/old-town/panska-a-laurinska-street/ At the beginning of the 18th century a pillar with the statue of Saint Florian was built in front of the gate.

Today

A hanging gate doors symbolise the place of the Laurinc Gate today. There were never any plans to rebuild or reconstruct the demolished tourist attraction in the past, nor in the present.

References

External links

{{coord, 48.1436, N, 17.1109, E, source:wikidata, display=title Gates Buildings and structures in Bratislava