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Origin and history

The German Gate, built around 1230 in Metz, is a medieval fortress built into the city walls. It served as both an entrance door and a fortified bridge over the Seille, controlling the eastern access of the city. Its architecture combines defensive elements (tours, mâchicoulis, niches) and successive adjustments reflecting the evolution of military techniques between the 13th and 16th centuries. It owes its name to the teutonic knights installed nearby, whose hospice was destroyed in 1552.

The construction began with two round towers in the 13th century, followed by a chestnut added in 1445 under the direction of Henry de Busdorff to strengthen the defence of the bridge. Between 1480 and 1550, the bridge was fortified with suspenders and scalables, while in 1529 Philippe d'Esch supervised the addition of curved vaults and a double propeller staircase. A false chalk and caponière, decorated with bas-reliefs, were built between 1526 and 1531. After the siege of 1552, the whole was consolidated, marking the end of the major changes.

In the 17th century, Vauban added a secondary door, now disappeared. The restorations of the 19th and 20th centuries (1858-1860, 1891-1892) partially altered its appearance, notably by German architect Paul Tornow, who introduced neo-Gothic elements. The adjacent bridge, destroyed in 1944, is rebuilt further. Between 2013 and 2014, a major renovation opens the site to the public, revealing historical coats of arms and modernising the spaces (lift, Renaissance rooms, stage terrace).

Initially a medieval defensive gate, the monument lost its military utility in the modern era but was preserved thanks to local scholars' intervention in the 19th century. Transformed into a museum in 1900, it houses archaeological collections, historical documents and objects related to Metz, including an 18th-century guillotine. Ranked a historic monument in 1966, it now embodies the Messin military heritage and hosts cultural events.

His name evokes the Teutonic Knights, or Hospital Brothers of Notre-Dame-des-Allemands, established near the door before their departure in 1552. The building also illustrates local conflicts, such as the siege of Metz in 1552 where François de Guise destroyed their hospice. The Gothic inscriptions (1445, 1529) and the zoomorphic sculptures of the sixteenth century bear witness to its rich artistic and strategic past, while recent restorations make it a living place, mixing history and modernity.

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