Brusselpoort, Mechelen, Belgium

The Brusselpoort is the sole remaining city gate of the original twelve gates of the city of Mechelen. This imposing structure dates from the 13th century. Because of its exceptional height, towering above the other gates, it was also called the 'Overste poort' (superior gate). In the 16th century, the towers were lowered and the roof construction was altered to the present configuration. In the course of the centuries, the building had many different uses from police station to youth center, from duty collector's office to artist's workshop.

References:

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Castles and fortifications in Belgium

User Reviews

Arno Dethoor (2 years ago)
Used to be more useful, now everyone can just get around the whole thing since they tore down the wall. Now it is just a bit pointless and a huge risk to the city defenses when some duchy decides to lay siege again.

Pascale S. (3 years ago)
"The Brusselpoort" is the only remaining medieval town gate of which Mechelen had several. Several centuries ago Mechelen was completely walled in and access only possible through one of the town gates. Even nowadays us locals still talk about extra-muros (when you lived outside of the town walls) or intra-muros when living within the safety of the walls. Definitely worth visiting / taking a look at when you visit Mechelen!

Erick Hasbun (3 years ago)
I enjoyed exploring the site and wandering through it. It is an interesting building in the middle of the road. I enjoyed looking at it and spent five minutes taking photographs, but nothing more.

Traffic Tse (4 years ago)
It was fun to walk around this site as well as walking through it. Standing under the wooden gate hung in the air, and using the reflection of the sunlight on my smartphone as a torch, I was able to see the detail of those walls hidden far above my head and in the darkness.

C C (4 years ago)
It's a nice historical well maintained building, however you can't really go inside and it's also in the middle of an area with high traffic around it. Interesting to look at and spend five minutes to take a photo, but nothing more.

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