Small street leading to the North Gate / Norderport in the Visby city wall. Visby, Gotland island, Sweden, Scandinavia.
Small street of Odalgatan in Visby leading to the North Gate / Norderport. Norderport is one of the oldest towers in the city wall and was the main entrance to the town for people and goods from the north part of the island. Originally, there was only a simple gate in the wall. The original slot for the toll barrier, dressed with wood, is still visible. The gate entrance was probably rebuilt when the tower was erected. Norderport and Österport are the oldest gate towers of the wall, probably built shortly after the erection of the first wall, possibly as early as 1280. Norderport lies on a steep slope. It was stoutly built, and hence had good defensive capacity. The outer, wooden gates were reinforced with a portcullis. Openings for chains and ropes to pull it up still exist. Through other openings, water could be poured onto the portcullis if an enemy attempted to set it on fire. In the outermost wall posts, iron rings are attached. These were probably used to secure a chain that could be stretched across the gate entrance. During times of peace, the gates were normally open and the entrance only blocked by the chain. The rooms above the gate contained a fireplace, which proves that the gate could have been permanently manned throughout the winter. On several of the floors, the arrow-slits have been widened to accommodate cannons. This was done in 1710. At the top of the tower, there are traces of an external wooden gallery for archers. In the 17th century, a fire consumed all wooden parts of the wall from Norderport to Silverhättan. As of 2018 the gate is one of the few which can be used by cars.
Size: 4392px × 3104px
Location: Norderport, Odalgatan, Visby, Sverige
Photo credit: © Anders Tukler / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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