DISTANT PLACES
Travel tips by Bremen sehenswert far from the Hanseatic City of Bremen
Hanseatic City of Rostock - A Travel Guide
Steintor (Stone Gate)
The side facing away from the city
Once, the Steintor was likely as imposing in size as the well-known Kröpeliner Tor. In the Middle Ages, it served as the main southern gateway into the city, with the path leading - just as today - through Steinstraße directly to the New Market, where the town hall and St. Mary's Church are located.
After its construction in 1279, it replaced the older Kuhtor (Cow Gate), the oldest of the four remaining gates out of the original 22 in Rostock’s old city wall, located a few hundred meters to the east. While the Kuhtor - possibly the oldest surviving city gate in Northern Germany - still stands, the original Steintor was demolished in 1565 during military conflicts with Schwerin, along with parts of the city wall and the predecessor of today’s Lagebuschturm. The materials were repurposed - a common practice at the time to humiliate defeated opponents.
Only after contractual agreements were reached did the reconstruction of the Steintor, the current Lagebuschturm, and the missing sections of the city wall take place between 1574 and 1577.
Instead of being built in the Gothic style, the new structure was designed in the Dutch Renaissance style. The side facing away from the city appears plain and somewhat forbidding, with its small, low-set openings in the thick wall - almost as if meant to discourage any would-be attackers at first glance. A small inset rectangle displays both the city and state coats of arms.
A small inset rectangle displays both the city and state coats of arms
In contrast, the side facing the city features a more representative portal rather than a simple, unadorned archway. Above the passage, lions hold shields: on the left, the coat of arms of the prince; on the right, the tricolor Hanseatic city coat of arms, each with a griffin - the mythical protective animal of the city - and in the center, a bull’s head, representing the city’s great seal. Below them, golden letters display Rostock’s motto: "Sit intra te concordia et publica felicias." ("Within your walls, may there be harmony and public prosperity.")
The variations in both the building’s appearance and its inscription over time are documented in the colored ink drawing by Vicke Schorler, a merchant’s apprentice or journeyman, created between 1578 and 1586 - shortly after the completion of the new gate.
Golden letters display Rostock’s motto: "Sit intra te concordia et publica felicias." ("Within your walls, may there be harmony and public prosperity.")
The Steintor was severely damaged during the bombing raids of 1942 and was rebuilt starting in the early 1950s. Today, without direct connection to the city wall, it stands somewhat isolated between a street on one side and tram tracks on the other.
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