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| Michael's Gate and a statue of St. Michael |
In today's blog about our Viking River Cruise along the Danube River, we're still inSlovakia's capital city of Bratislava that was originally a walled city. It also had 4 gates, and now only one remains. We'll explain the history of Michael's Gate and the missing others.
ONCE A WALLED CITY WITH 4 GATES - In the medieval times the town was surrounded by fortified walls, and entry and exit was only possible through one of the four heavily fortified gates.
1) The LAURINC GATE- was on the east side of the tow and named after Saint Lawrence,
2) FISHERMAN'S GATE - was on the south side. It was the smallest gate of the four, used mainly by the fishermen entering the city with fish caught in the river Danube.
3) VYDRICA GATE - was on the west side. It was also called the Dark Gate or Black Gate, since it was like a tunnel—dark and long.
WHAT IS MICHAEL'S GATE? Michael's Gate is the only city gate out of 4 that has been preserved from Medieval fortifications. It's one of the oldest town buildings, and was about the year 1300. It was reconstructed in 1758 in baroque style and that's how it appears now. It is on the north part of the city and named for St. Michael. St. Michael church stood in front of it (outside the town wall). WHAT'S ON TOP OF IT? A statue of St. Michael and the Dragon was placed on its top in 1758.
NEXT: Executioner's Street and the Korzo Stone
