Berliner Tor Fortness (Wesel)

The Berlin Gate in Wesel is a component of the Wesel Fortress and was built by the fortress and court architect Jean de Bodt from 1718 to 1722.

It is located on the east side of Wesel's city center and is the only remaining gate of the former Wesel Fortress. It was built in the Prussian Baroque style and renovated in 1791. In the course of the de-fortification from 1890–1895 and especially at the end of World War II, it was severely damaged. Nevertheless, its representative function is clearly recognizable. As part of the fortress, it has only a single passage.

The Berlin Gate is crowned on the field side by a trophy with the allegorical representation of fame and good reputation. Like the rest of the architectural sculpture, it is a work by Guillaume Hulot. However, it is a 19th-century replica. The city side was destroyed in World War II. The Latin inscription on the cornice reads: The fortification of the city and the citadel, which was begun by the Elector of Brandenburg Frederick William and expanded by Frederick, the first King of Prussia, was completed by King Frederick William of Prussia, a son of Frederick I and a grandson of Frederick William, in a manner as generous as it was befitting a king. 1722.

Between two Doric columns on the field side are the larger-than-life figures of Minerva and Heracles. Above each of the sandstone-carved figures is a medallion. They show a sleeping lion with the Latin inscription: To be feared even in rest, and the flying Prussian eagle with the Latin inscription: He does not yield to the sun, the motto of Frederick William I.

The square around the gate was redesigned in 1984.