The Most Beautiful City Gate In The Netherlands!

Ode to the Prison Gate

I'm at your feet, look up and stretch my hand.
I feel the rough hardness of your exterior.
I feel the scars from the lanes over the years.
Traces of worms and shellfish, remaining as an inheritance, in your stone.
You, but also the old town hall are made of Flemish limestone.
Gobertanger has been keeping you on your feet for over 600 years.
You're the oldest monument in the city on the Zoom.
And like Bergen, you keep your pious!
Once upon a time, you were linked to the fortress wall, the wall of your hometown.
It's been since the 14th century and you've had several functions.
Thus you gave access to the Lievevrouwestraat and in your defense work you were very moved.
You consisted of two robust towers, with loopholes, calculated on the crossbows.
After an extension of the fortress, you went through a change of name.
After your start as Lievevrouwepoort, you came to stand inside the walls of the city.
Your function as a protector suddenly turned out to be redundant around 1600.
But a prison was still needed at that time.
You went through an expansion, with a hostage room and a home for the guard.
And that's how you stand today, still here.
From all over the Netherlands, there are few of your kind.
You're a very old city gate!
Your history excites my imagination, I see prisoners locked up for many, many hours.
One even scratched the words “Porto Patens Esto” in the wooden walls.
One more time, I'll touch your body and stretch my hand.
You are the most beautiful city gate in the whole of the Netherlands!

Written by: Angeliena Huis www.angelienahuis.nl

Illustrator: Ingrid Vissers Verhoeven

#nostalgie #BergenOpZoom #Stadspoort #vroeger #gedichten #gedicht #poezie