A fortified gateway is an element of a variety of

fortified A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''face ...

structures, such as a

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

or walled town. Fortified gates or gateways appear in the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

and reach into the modern times.

City gate

Gatehouse

{{main, Gatehouse

''Torburg''

Jakob Scheiner Koeln Severinstor Feldseite

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 **Ger ...

, a "Torburg", lit. "gate castle", is a relatively autonomous and heavily fortified gateway of a castle or town. Medieval castle gateways of this type usually have additional fortifications in front of them. A common form is the

tower A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specifi ...

gateway (German: ''Turmtorburg''); a variant is the

bastion A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...

gateway (German: ''Halbrundturmtorburg''). They are common in Europe.

Examples in Europe

France

Château du Sou in Lacenas

Germany

* Deutsches Tor in Metz * Ehrentor, Eigelsteintorburg, Hahnentorburg, Kuniberts Tower, Schaafentor and Severin Gate in Cologne *Town fortifications of Erkelenz * Friedländer Tor in Neubrandenburg * Marching Gate and Bridge Gate in Aachen as well as Aachen's city walls * Upper Gate in Neuss *Fortified gateway of Seeburg Palace * Star Gate in Bonn *Fortified gateway of Stolberg Castle in Stolberg (Rhineland) * Porta Alba,

Porta Nigra The Porta Nigra (Latin for ''black gate'') is a large Roman city gate in Trier, Germany. It is today the largest Roman city gate north of the Alps. It was designated as part of the Roman Monuments, Cathedral of St Peter and Church of Our Lady i ...

and Imperial Baths in Trier

Romania (Transylvania)

* Stundturm in Sighișoara

United Kingdom

* Westgate at

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

Balkerne Gate Balkerne Gate is a Roman gateway in Colchester (the former Camulodunum). It is the largest surviving gateway in Roman Britain and was built where the Roman road from Londinium intersected the town wall of Camulodunum. It is a scheduled monument a ...

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colc ...

* Bargate, Southampton *

Castle Upton Castle Upton is situated in the village of Templepatrick, in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is around north-west of Belfast. Originally the site of a 13th-century fortified priory of the Knights of St John, the present building was constr ...

Templepatrick Templepatrick (; ) is a village and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is northwest of Belfast, and halfway between the towns of Ballyclare and Antrim. It is also close to Belfast International Airport and the village has sever ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

* Kingsgate and Westgate, Winchester *

Monnow Bridge Monnow Bridge ( cy, Pont Trefynwy ), in Monmouth, Wales, is the only remaining fortified river bridge in Great Britain with its gate tower standing on the bridge. Such bridge towers were common across Europe from medieval times, but many were ...

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. ...

- the only surviving type in Britain with the gatehouse positioned on the bridge *

Portgate The Portgate was a fortified gateway, constructed as part of Hadrian's Wall where it crossed the Roman road now known as Dere Street, which preceded Hadrian's Wall by around 50 years. It was built to control traffic along Dere Street as it pa ...

on Hadrian's Wall *Five Arches Gate and Whitesand Gate at

Tenby Tenby ( cy, Dinbych-y-pysgod, lit=fortlet of the fish) is both a walled seaside town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the western side of Carmarthen Bay, and a local government community. Notable features include of sandy beaches and the Pembr ...

Micklegate Bar York has, since Roman times, been defended by walls of one form or another. To this day, substantial portions of the walls remain, and York has more miles of intact wall than any other city in England. They are known variously as York City Wal ...

and other gates at

York York is a cathedral city with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...

On coats of arms

Bad Kissingen Bad Kissingen is a German spa town in the Bavarian region of Lower Franconia and seat of the district Bad Kissingen. Situated to the south of the Rhön Mountains on the Franconian Saale river, it is one of the health resorts, which bec ...

Dinslaken Dinslaken is a town in the district of Wesel, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is known for its harness racing track, its now closed coal mine in Lohberg and its wealthy neighborhoods ''Hiesfeld'' and ''Eppinghoven''. Geography Dinslaken i ...

Königswinter Königswinter ( ksh, Köningkswinte; Low Franconian: ) is a town and summer resort in the Rhein-Sieg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Königswinter is situated on the right bank of the Rhine, opposite Bad Godesberg, at th ...

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

Neubrandenburg Neubrandenburg (lit. ''New Brandenburg'', ) is a city in the southeast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is located on the shore of a lake called Tollensesee and forms the urban centre of the Mecklenburg Lakeland. The city is famous for i ...

* Uedem * Wassenberg *

Wiehl Wiehl () is a municipality in the Oberbergischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located approximately 41 km east of Cologne. The neighbouring municipalities Reichshof, Waldbröl, Nümbrecht, Much, Engelskirchen and Gummers ...

File:Limerick.Shield.png, Fortified gate in the Limerick coat of arms File:DEU Dinslaken COA.svg, Fortified gate in the Dinslaken coat of arms File:DEU Koenigswinter COA.svg, Fortified gate in the Königswinter coat of arms File:Wappenwiehl.svg, Fortified gate in the Wiehl coat of arms