Ponttor

The Ponttor is one of the few remaining city gates in Aachen and takes you straight back to the days of the imperial city. Completed around 1320, it protected the northern entrance to the city and was part of a comprehensive fortification system with a gate tower, outer gate and moat. The massive construction with a portcullis, pitch roof and towers impressively demonstrates how seriously the city took its defence. Standing in front of the gate, you can see traces of the Middle Ages in every stone. Today, the Ponttor acts as a silent threshold between the past and the present, telling of times when travellers and merchants took their first steps into the city here.