Stralsunder Tor

The Stralsunder Tor stands in Grimmen, a town in Vorpommern-Rügen. It is one of three surviving gates from the old town wall that once surrounded the city. Built around 1320–30, the six-storey brick gate rises 25.2 metres on a field-stone base. It once controlled the road to Stralsund, its city side plain while the land side was richly decorated with glazed tracery and German bands. Five broad plaster strips and a five-metre-wide fighting platform mark its outer face. The gate later became the court usher’s home and part of it a prison until 1850. A lightning strike in 1910 damaged the structure, but it was rebuilt to the original detail. Major restorations in 1978 and 1991 have preserved its medieval appearance. Visitors find a massive brick tower with most openings now walled up. The steep roof is framed by stepped gables added in the 15th century. Inside, narrow staircases lead up to the old fighting platform. The plain city façade contrasts with the ornate land side, showing how the town’s defences were organised.