Burgtor Castle Gate

Burgtor Castle Gate stands at the crossroads of Hofgasse and Erzherzog-Johann-Allee. It is part of the Graz City Crown (Graz section Grazer Stadtkrone) and is located in Graz’s Innere Stadt area. In addition to the Outer Paulus Gate, the edifice is Graz’s only remaining Walltor.

The Babenbergers previously describe a “Tor gegen die Grecz,” where the term “Grecz” refers to the Grazbach or the Kroisbach. The gate was still on the level of the Schauspielhaus, but it was relocated to its current place during the reign of Emperor Frederick III. The building of the new city gate is dated to 1336 or 1346, depending on the source – here with the first documentary reference. The gate received its name from the addition of Graz Castle in 1440, which is still in use today.The castle gate was known as “Pfarrtor” or “St. Gilgen Gate” at various times throughout its history. It is regarded as the “most solidly developed city gate” in the world.

The castle gate was simply known as the “Clock Gate” around a hundred years later, during the Renaissance, because of a building with a clock and bell. The castle gate’s current appearance comes from about 1440 and 1640. The basic façade facing the city is Gothic in design, while the side facing the city park is Renaissance in style. Gothic pointed arch stone gates and a barrel-vaulted tunnel make up the gate entry.

Due to different sources of danger, the castle gate was closely locked between 1479 and 1784, and attempts by townspeople to gain at least a temporary opening of the gate failed.It wasn’t until Emperor Joseph II declared Graz a “open city” that things changed. As a result, after more than 300 years, it was feasible to re-enter the city gate. The medieval gatekeeper’s house, now the Café Promenade, still exists in Graz’s city park in front of the castle gate. The modest structure with the distinctive Doric columns has stood since 1837.