Graach Gate, Medieval city gate in Bernkastel-Kues, Germany

The Graach Gate is a rectangular stone gate with a Baroque round-arched passage built of red rusticated blocks and a mansard roof from the first half of the 18th century. A niche above the arch holds a figure of St. Michael, the town patron; the original is in the Trier Diocesan Museum. The town side has a slate-clad, cap-like roof that blends with neighbouring houses.

Built around 1300 as one of eight passages in Bernkastel's northern town wall, the gate was named for the neighbouring village of Graach, toward which its road led. In 1689 troops of General Montalt, serving Louis XIV of France, razed the gate and the town wall. Rebuilt lower at the start of the 18th century, it served as a prison from 1714, later housing flats and a shelter for the homeless.

The figure of Saint Michael positioned above the passage is now a replica, while the original statue is kept in the Diocese of Trier museum. This religious representation shows the connection between the town and its church-related past.

The gate stands at the northern edge of Bernkastel's old town, where the road through its passage leads toward the neighbouring village of Graach. The museum rooms occupy the interior of the gate itself, so the visit is combined with seeing the building from inside. The passage is entered on foot; the red rusticated stone archway frames the way through.

A historical drawing from 1590 shows the original structure had a tower three times taller than the current building. This tower was completely destroyed during the French raid of 1689 and was never rebuilt.