Rhine Gate, Medieval tower in Basel-Stadt, Switzerland

The Rhine Gate is a medieval tower positioned at a strategic spot in Basel where the river meets the city. The exterior displays Gothic and Renaissance features with ornate stone details, while clock faces on the upper section mark the time.

The Rhine Gate was probably built around 1225/26 by Bishop Heinrich von Thun together with the Rhine bridge, though some claimed Roman origins. From 1376 it held prison cells, including the "Fledermausturm" for serious offences. Renovated around 1363/64 and again in 1617-1619 after the Rhine undermined its foundations, it was demolished in February 1839 to widen the Eisengasse, about twenty years before the other city walls.

The gate's name comes from the Rhine bridge it guarded on the Grossbasel bank. Its copper Lällenkönig head, mounted in 1641 beside the river-side clock, rolled its eyes every second and stuck out its tongue 10 cm; after the 1839 demolition it moved to the Historisches Museum and is now in the Barfüsserkirche.

The gate no longer stands: it was demolished in February 1839 to widen the Eisengasse, about twenty years before the rest of Basel's inner walls came down. Its site is at the western end of the Mittlere Brücke, on the Grossbasel bank of the Rhine. Nothing of the structure survives above ground, so look for the bridgehead and the street layout rather than a tower.

The Lällenkönig, a copper-plate head mounted left of the riverside clock in 1641, rolled its eyes every second and stuck out its tongue 10 cm; Daniel Neuberger of Augsburg built it. After the gate was demolished in 1839 the figure went to the Historical Museum and can be seen in the Barfüsserkirche.