Nordertor
History
The town wall 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 boundary 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, 1577-1648 and the Latin words: Regna Firmat Pietas — Piety strengthens the Realm. The right one bears the coat of arms of Flensburg with the German words: Friede ernährt, Unfrieden verzehrt — Peace 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, 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 Paul Ziegler, and a clock was installed. In 1966 the Deutsche Bundespost issued a 30 Pfennig 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 weddings, so that weddings are now performed in a room above the archway of the gate.
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View from the original site of the Norder Porte to the Nordertor today
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The coats of arms and the mottos
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The Nordertor 1972
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Flensburg's tramway in front of the Nordertor in 1972
References
- ^ Heinz Taufel, Kay Wohlsen: Flensburg, 29
- ^ Stadtmauer und Stadttore. Lese und Arbeitsheft zur Geschichte Flensburgs für den Heimat- und Sachunterricht .. von der Universität Flensburg Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine (PDF), page 5
- ^ Stadtmauer und Stadttore. Lese und Arbeitsheft zur Geschichte Flensburgs für den Heimat- und Sachunterricht .. von der Universität Flensburg Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine (PDF), page 10
- ^ Werner Scharnweber: Flensburg, 29
- ^ Heinz Taufel, Kay Wohlsen: Flensburg, Glossary: Nordertor
- ^ Heinz Taufel, Kay Wohlsen: Flensburg, Glossary: Nordertor
- ^ Werner Scharnweber: Flensburg, 44
- ^ Compare Flensburger Straßennamen. Gesellschaft für Flensburger Stadtgeschichte, Flensburg 2005 , ISBN 3-925856-50-1, article: Am Nordertor
- ^ Flensburger Tageblatt: Engelsby, Mürwik, Jürgensby - Stadtgeschichte vor der Haustür, Februar 5. 2009. Retrieved März 26, 2015.
- ^ Lutz Wilde: Denkmaltopographie Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Kulturdenkmale in Schleswig-Holstein. Band 2, Flensburg, page 140
- ^ Flensburg-Online, Nordertor, Retrieved November 28, 2015
- ^ Heinz Taufel, Kay Wohlsen: Flensburg, Glossary: Nordertor