The only preserved gate in the medieval fortified city walls of Olsztyn. It was an element of defensive system, sheltering the city from the North. In the 19th century the Gate became a prison, where Wojciech Kętrzyński was detained in 1863. Currently it hosts a hotel.

 

 

History

The Gate dates back to the end of the 14th century. It was erected after the extension of the city in 1378 and after moving the northern section of Olsztyn fortification. It was an observation point and a checkpoint for incomers. The Gate used to be connected with the Upper Suburb via a wooden bridge over a boggy moat. The Gate structure had a heavy door and a portcullis. In the 19th century, after many fires and when the city fortification almost crumbled apart, the Gate was renovated by a Prussian minister of preservation of historic monuments Ferdinand von Quast in 1858. The roofline of the tower was altered then and step gables were added. A stylized staircase was annexed to the building in 1880. It connected the Gate with the jail, erected in 1862. A passage for pedestrians was breached in 1895. After moving the prison to a new place, the Gate was to be demolished as useless. It avoided being pulled down due to the fact that it became the seat of a fire brigade, then it was used as a police station and a registration office. Since 1907 trams passed through the Gate. In the interwar period the Gate was adapted for residential purposes. After the World War II it was used by PTTK, currently it hosts a hotel.

 

Architectural description

This Gothic Gate, based on a plan close to a square with a side measuring 9.5 m with minor disparities, has a narrower neo-Gothic staircase annex from the eastern side. Its Height- 23 m., up to 18,6 m. – original Gothic walls. The roofline has a form of step gables with ogive, non- plastered blind windows. At the northern corners you can see protruding bricks, traces of a so called ”neck” that used to be one of the defensive elements of the fortification. From the suburban side there is a reconstructed wooden portcullis in an ogive passage. From the town side the Gate is richly decorated with a blackishly baked brick. Over the passage you can see a vaulted niche with a mosaic of Our Lady of Peace, a copy of a painting from Stoczek Klasztorny, modelled on the effigy of Santa Maria Maggiore from the church of Our Lady of Snow in Rome. The mosaic is a gift for Olsztyn from the Pope John Paul II from 2004. Next to the mosaic you can see a gunmetal Pope’s head and a commemorative inscription. From the West there is a reconstructed section of the wall with a wooden gallery and a plaque commemorating the 650th anniversary of the city in 2003. On the northern wall of the 19th century annex there is a commemorative plaque of Wojciech Kętrzyński.

 

Interesting facts

On 13 September 1863, in the village of Jaroty, Wojciech Kętrzyński was arrested while smuggling guns from Konigsberg to the Kingdom of Poland. Kętrzyński’s imprisonment in the Upper Gate lasted 5 days. Afterwards, he was sentenced to a 1- year detention in a fortress of Kłodzko.

From the suburban side there were additional defensive structures of the tower, namely two rows of walls, perpendicular to the Gate, leading to the bridge over the moat, so called ”neck”. In case of any attack, the enemy, having crossed the bridge, would have to run in between the walls, so he was forced to attack directly the Gate.

At the end of the 19th century the existence of the Gate was threatened as it was unused after the prison had moved out. A directive of the Prussian government from 1896 allowed to pull down all the old buildings, which hindered the development and extension of the cities. The Gate survived, owing to a decision of the mayor Oscar Belian, who placed a fire brigade with two fire fighters in the Gate and the former jail building.

There were plans to place a statue of St. James the Elder, the patron of the city, in a niche in the Gate from the city side. Finally the statue was mounted in the Fish Market (Targ Rybny).

 

Practical info

- free parking lot for coaches – 200 m. away (Nowowiejskiego Street)

- sightseeing only from outside; inside there is a hotel.

 

Bibliography

Rzempołuch A., Architektura i urbanistyka Olsztyna 1353-1953, Olsztyn 2005.