Porte des Allemand is a beautiful and restored city gate in Metz, now France. Metz was a surprise gem of our Battle of the Bulge tour, a really pretty little town and lovely to walk around. A stunning cathedral too, although that is out of the scope of this post.
The largest remnants of the original medieval defences, Porte des Allemand is so named because it was next to the hospital built by the Teutonic Knights. It is a fortified gateway with towers at each and a bridge across the river Seille inbetween.
Visiting
We were able to walk along the upper ramparts as well as the gate level defences and also visit either bank to get an idea of the fortifications. The interior rooms now house a small exhibition. This isn’t somewhere you’d spend the day but it is certainly worth an hour or so to visit and maybe walk along the ramparts on the bank.
Photo Gallery
History
Built in the thirteenth century the defences were upgraded to incorporate cannons in the sixteenth. The site was restored in the nineteenth century and is now a major tourist attraction.
References
A Google translation of the Wikipedia page is here.