Town Fortification Dülmen-Lüdinghauser Gate

The Lüdinghauser Tor is a component of the former city fortifications of Dülmen. It is located at the exit of Dülmen city center on Lüdinghauser Straße in the direction of Lüdinghausen.

The Lüdinghauser Tor is the landmark of Dülmen.

The gate (also known as Lüdinghauser Pforte or Ludinchuser Porten) was probably built in the 14th century as a wooden gate as part of the city fortifications. The stone towers were erected at the end of the 15th century, with a wooden battlement serving as a connection. Cannons were placed on the gates and walls, two of which stood at the Lüdinghauser Tor from 1584. The battlement, like the gatehouse built in the meantime, disappeared over time. The gatekeeper's house was demolished in 1836 when the collection of road tolls was prohibited. Until 1906, one of the towers also served as the city prison.

Already in the mid-19th century, the towers of the Lüdinghauser Tor were considered a traffic obstruction, but the government prohibited their demolition. In the course of the prohibition, a pedestrian passage was first broken into the western, then later into the eastern tower. In 1908, as part of the preparations for the city's 600th anniversary in 1911, both towers were re-roofed and the stone connection was also built as a characteristic central structure.

The Lüdinghauser Tor was used by the National Socialists from 1938 to 1945 as the city coat of arms (instead of the cloverleaf cross). With the reconstruction after its destruction in World War II, the gate received its current special status - and is still a traffic obstruction.