Town fortifications Gdańsk - Holy Spirit Gate

The Holy Spirit Gate (Polish Brama Świętego Ducha) is one of the Gdańsk water gates on the bank of the Motława (German Mottlau). It was named after the Holy Spirit Lane, at the end of which it is located. The gate dates from the end of the 14th century and is one of the older water gates of the Main City. The structure served military and economic purposes; storage rooms were located on the first floor. In front of the gate was the Holy Spirit Bridge, a ship landing that later became part of the Long Bridge. In the 16th century, it lost its fortification character and was converted into apartments and workshops. Nineteenth-century alterations led to the definitive loss of its historical form. In March 1945, the building was completely destroyed. The gate was rebuilt in 1985–1987 as an office building for the state publishing agency. Architecturally, it is modeled on historical depictions of the first water gates. The gate is a three-story building with seven window axes and a length of 26 meters and 7.5 meters width. With a steep roof, it stands with its eaves facing the Long Bridge. On the city and water sides, it shows three dormer windows each and is decorated with sgraffito friezes. In the sequence of gates on the Mottlau, it stands between the Frauen Gate (Brama Mariacka) to the south and the Crane Gate (Żuraw) to the north. A pedestrian bridge leads from the gate to Speicherinsel. This was technically designed as a swing bridge and completed by the end of 2019. The structural remains from the 14th and 17th centuries were entered under number 319 on February 27, 1967, in the monument list of the Pomeranian Voivodeship.