The Hahnentorburg is one of the surviving medieval city gates of Cologne and it does look quite impressive from this side. It was built in the thirteenth century as part of Cologne’s vast defensive wall and it once marked the western approach to the city. The twin rounded towers and heavy basalt base do suggest strength, but the gate is today looking a little adrift in the landscape.
I think it’s fair to say that this postcard showing the gate at the turn of the twentieth century does make it look rather more impressive. Unfortunately, the gate was badly damaged during the Second World War, so the whole arrangement is today somewhat less decadent.
This is the other side of the gate today, it has very much lost its former glory. But, it has stubbornly held on when other city gates have been entirely lost and it’s a useful reminder of the street layout that Cologne once had, somewhat now battered by post-war developments.