Rittertor

The Rittertor stands at the western end of Stolberg’s Ritterstraße, a medieval gatehouse that once guarded the town’s western approach. Built between 1260 and 1280, it originally carried the name Eselsgässer Tor after the nearby street where donkeys once carried goods up to Stolberg Castle. The gate featured small corner towers and housed stables for the donkeys. In 1635 part of the structure collapsed just after residents had passed through, and repairs made in 1640 failed when another storm brought it down again. After the second collapse the gate was rebuilt and reinforced with palisades and a trench to protect the valley entrance. Stolberg’s steep valleys meant that, apart from its gates, the town had little in the way of walls or towers. The gate’s position at the valley mouth made it the main defence point for the town below. Its design reflected the need to control movement along the single western road. Visitors today find the gate standing at the end of Ritterstraße, a quiet street lined with half-timbered houses. The gate’s arch frames views of the valley and the hills beyond. Nearby, the remains of the palisade and trench can still be traced in the ground. The gatehouse itself shows the scars of its collapses and restorations over the centuries. Stolberg Castle, once supplied by donkeys through this gate, overlooks the town from above.