Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Strasbourg gate, located in Mutzig in the Lower Rhine, is the only remaining vestige of the three gates of the medieval fortified enclosure. Dating from the late 13th or early 14th century, it was changed over the centuries: its upper part was added after 1550, and its roof in the 17th century. It was preceded by a barbacan until 1775, and served as a prison until World War I. A fresco depicting Saint Maurice, painted around 1896, adorns its extramural face.

The gate, also known as the Saint-Maurice Gate or the Molsheim Gate, was listed as a historic monument in 1923. Its structure combines defensive elements (cannons, triangular housings) and traces of civilian use (cachot, guard corps). The tower, in sandstone, shows a neat apparatus with humpstones and pads. Its rumped roof, topped by a bell, dates back to later reshuffles.

The original enclosure, built under John I of Dirpheim after 1308, leaned on the hills to the north and the Bruche Canal to the south, including the Episcopal Castle. The fortifications, maintained in the Middle Ages, were gradually abandoned from the 18th century. The lower gate, towards Strasbourg, was lined with an external work destroyed in 1774, replaced by a monumental co-agent door, which was demolished in 1881. The adjacent houses, serving as guard corps, were destroyed in 1940.

The present fresco, made by Antoine Heitzmann in 1974, replaces an earlier painting of 1896. The upper gate, to the west, was destroyed in 1836, while the third gate, to the south towards Hermolsheim, disappeared during the transformations of the episcopal castle in the 17th–15th centuries. After 1834, the abolition of granting rights accelerated the degradation of the walls, 32 metres of which were illegally shot down in 1865.

Today, owned by the municipality, the Strasbourg Gate bears witness to the military and urban history of Mutzig, marked by conflicts (world wars) and architectural adaptations. Its ranking in 1923 underscores its heritage importance in the Alsatian landscape.

External links