Mills Gate, City gate in Aigues-Mortes, France
The Porte des moulins is a medieval city gate set into the old stone walls surrounding Aigues-Mortes in southern France. It features a rounded arch held by large keystones, with thick stone walls on either side forming a short passageway into the town.
The walls of Aigues-Mortes, including this gate, were built in two phases under King Philippe III and King Philippe IV, completed around 1300. The gate once served as the main route to the port, through which goods and merchants passed regularly.
Above the gateway arch, carved keystones show an angel holding a crown and an old man making a grim face. These carvings were visible to everyone entering the town, meant to signal authority and strength at the threshold.
The gate is easy to reach on foot and sits along the town walls, which can be walked in Aigues-Mortes. A visit pairs well with a walk past the other gates and towers of the same fortification.
In the 17th century, two windmills stood on the terrace above the gate, grinding grain and giving the Porte des moulins its name. Nothing remains of those mills today, but the name still keeps their memory alive.
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