The Hunting Gate ( German: Jägertor ) is the city gate of Potsdam , built in 1733 and the oldest surviving to this day. They form the northern entrance to the city, and also serve as the beginning of Lindenstrasse. They got their name from the Elector's Courtyard outside the city. Initially, the gate was part of the “excise” wall that surrounded the city and served not as a defensive fortification, but as an obstacle for deserter soldiers and smugglers. Lindenstrasse crossed the wall obliquely, so the gates were also at an angle to the wall.
In 1869, the wall was demolished, and since then the gates have stood freely in a small area. The columns are made in a Tuscan warrant . A sculptural group is reinforced above the gate - a deer attacked by hunting dogs; flaming grenades are depicted on its sides. Thus, both the connection of the gates with the hunting yard and their military function are reflected. The material for the architrave and sculpture was sandstone, and for rusticated columns - plastered brick.
On the south side of the gate there used to be a guardhouse and a customs post. The court painter Friedrich Wilhelm I Dismar Degen captured the appearance of the gates of that time on an oil canvas; Today this painting belongs to the Foundation of Prussian Palaces and Gardens . Degen deliberately exaggerated the dimensions of the gates, so in the picture they look more massive and impressive than in life.
Today the gates are located on Hegelalley Boulevard, which runs along the line of the former wall. The city plan clearly shows the difference between the districts located on either side of the gate: in the south - compact buildings from the time of the Second expansion of the city, in the north - villas that are freely spread out. The gate also continues to be Lindenstrasse's architectural dominant.
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