History

The earliest mention of the Chlebnicka Gate dates from 1377. Around the mid-15th century, it underwent alterations and extensions (in the Flemish style). In the early modern period, after the gate had ceased to serve a defensive function, it was converted into a residential building. Over the centuries, the gate lost its southern façade together with a turret (construction of the house in 5 Długie Pobrzeże Street). During World War 2, the gate building underwent renovation and maintenance. In 1945, the gate was partially destroyed by fire (roof, gable, southern part of the west wall). Securing works were carried out since 1952, and in 1959-1961 the structure was rebuilt to serve residential purposes (design by S. Bobiński and J. Chrzanowicz).

Description

The gate is situated at the eastern end, parallel to the line of the Motława waterfront, in a densely built-up area of Długie Pobrzeże Street to the south. The structure was designed in the Late Gothic style, with the body and façades inspired by the Flamish architecture (Ghent Gate and St Christopher’s Gate in Bruges). It was built on an elongated rectangular plan and features an octagonal turret at the north-eastern corner. The three-storey structure is covered with a gable roof, and the turret with a pyramid-shaped roof. The ground floor has been designed with a pointed-arch gateway moved from the axis towards the north. On the axis of the passage is an attic room topped with a stepped gable. The walls are built of brick and feature a Gothic (Polish) bond; the surrounds of the gateway are made of stone. The roof is covered with ceramic tiles. The east façade (from the river) is adorned with nine tall (running through all storeys) profiled recesses, topped by pairs of pointed arches with a corbel. Rectangular windows were installed in place of the original embrasures, on the axes of blind windows, and in the lower section of the gable. The turret is profiled on the corners and partitioned by cornices into storeys. It features the original narrow embrasures. The gable of the attic room has four axes and is partitioned by pointed-arched blind windows. The west façade is partitioned similarly to the east façade (with blind windows running through the second and third storey). The gable-end north façade features a three-storey shallow pointed-arched recess. The passage arch is surmounted by stone cartouches in the shape of a rhombus: the Gdańsk coat of arms from before 1454 to the east, and the lily motif to the west. The interior features a layout from the period of the post-war reconstruction.

The monument can be viewed from the outside.

compiled by Krystyna Babnis, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Gdańsk, 17-10-2014.

Bibliography

• Sulikowski G., Brama Chlebnicka, [w:] Encyklopedia Gdańska, red. naukowa B. Śliwiński, Gdańsk 2012, s. 115-116.
• Stankiewicz J. [z uzupełnieniami innych autorów], Brama Chlebnicka [w:] Katalog Zabytków Sztuki, pod red. B. Roll i I. Strzeleckiej, Miasto Gdańsk, cz. 1, Główne Miasto, Warszawa 2006, s. 28-29.