Gentpoort, Medieval city gate in Bruges, Belgium.
Gentpoort is one of the four surviving gates of Bruges' second city wall of 1297. The present gate was built around 1400 by Jan van Oudenaerde, together with the Kruispoort and the lost Katelijnepoort. It is a brick gate with a tall round tower under a pointed roof, a smaller turret to its left, a red arched door and a cross-shaped window, and a slender spire behind. The Gentpoortbrug crosses the Ringvaart beside it.
The gate was built around 1400 and formed an essential part of the defensive infrastructure that had been developing in Bruges since 1297. Over the centuries, its role changed from controlling movement to becoming a landmark that represents the city's medieval period.
The gate housed a museum from 2011 to 2019 that explained the role of a medieval city gate; it closed in early 2020 after the Gruuthusemuseum took over that function. In 2021 the Koninklijke Gidsenbond (Royal Guild of Guides) moved in. The gate stands on the second city wall of 1297, and the Gentpoortbrug crosses the Ringvaart beside it.
The gate stands at the south end of the old centre, where the Gentpoortbrug crosses the Ringvaart; the arched passage at the bridge is the way through. The museum inside closed at the start of 2020, and since 2021 the Koninklijke Gidsenbond has been housed in the gate building, so visits depend on that use rather than fixed opening hours.
The gate's museum, open from 2011 to 2019, used models and displays to explain how a medieval city gate worked. After the Gruuthusemuseum took over that role, it closed in early 2020, and in 2021 the Koninklijke Gidsenbond moved in.
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