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City gate

Gate set within a city wall

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
7 min read
Source updated June 30, 2026
Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

A city gate is a gate which is, or was, set within a city wall. It is a type of fortified gateway.

01Uses

City gates were traditionally built to provide a point of controlled access to and departure from a walled city for people, vehicles, goods and animals. Depending on their historical context they filled functions relating to defense, security, health, trade, taxation, and representation, and were correspondingly staffed by military or municipal authorities. The city gate was also commonly used to display diverse kinds of public information such as announcements, tax and toll schedules, standards of local measures, and legal texts. It could be heavily fortified, ornamented with heraldic shields, sculpture or inscriptions, or used as a location for warning or intimidation, for example by displaying the heads of beheaded criminals or public enemies.

Notably in Denmark, many market towns used to have at least one city gate mostly as part of the city's fortifications, but during the Age of Absolutism their functions become closely linked to the collection of customs, the so-called octroi, which from 1660 onwards was charged to the market town's coffers. When absolutism in Denmark came to an end after the revolutions of 1848, gate consumption was abolished in 1852, and since then the city gates also began to disappear.

Medieval Danish city gates are found today only in Vesterport, Faaborg, and Mølleporten, Stege, as well as in Flensburg, today in Germany. Further city gates, in one form or another, can be found across the world in cities dating back to ancient times to around the 19th century. Many cities would close their gates after a certain curfew each night, for example, a bigger one like Prague or a smaller one like the one in Flensburg, in the north of Germany.

With increased stability and freedom, many walled cities removed such fortifications as city gates, although many still survive; albeit for historic interest rather than security. Many surviving gates have been heavily restored, rebuilt or new ones created to add to the appearance of a city, such as Bab Bou Jalous in Fes. With increased levels of traffic, city gates have come under threat in the past for impeding the flow of traffic, such as Temple Bar Gate in London which was removed in the 19th century.

Depiction of a guard checking a salesperson's papers at a city gate
Depiction of a guard checking a salesperson's papers at a city gate
Bab Agnaou is a city gate in Marrakesh.
Bab Agnaou is a city gate in Marrakesh.
Zhengyangmen is a city gate in Beijing.
Zhengyangmen is a city gate in Beijing.
Damascus Gate is one of several gates of the Old City of Jerusalem.
Damascus Gate is one of several gates of the Old City of Jerusalem.

02Examples

Africa

Asia

Europe

Americas

Golden Gate of Diocletian's Palace in Split
Golden Gate of Diocletian's Palace in Split
Višegrad Gate on Vratnik, eastern entrance to Sarajevo
Višegrad Gate on Vratnik, eastern entrance to Sarajevo
Brusselpoort is a city gate in Mechelen.
Brusselpoort is a city gate in Mechelen.
Watch videos about City gateExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “City gate”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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