Laurinc Gate

Laurinc Gate was a medieval town gate in the historical Old Town of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It was built in the 14th century and demolished by the order of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria in the 18th century together with most of the city walls, because the inner walls were limiting the town's growth. It was named after Saint Lawrence. Unlike the Michael's Gate, the only medieval city gate still standing in Bratislava, Laurinc Gate did not contain a tall tower. Instead, it was a massive square-shaped structure with a long tunnel at the ground floor. There was a water moat in front of it and unlike the sometimes dry moat near Michael's Gate, this one always contained water due to its proximity to the Danube and the presence of the mouth of a stream coming down from the Little Carpathians mountains. Today, a portcullis hanging over Laurinská Street symbolizes the place of the former Laurinc Gate.