Serpenoise Gate

On your left, is the Serpenoise Gate. Nowadays, cities expand and merge, but this was not the case from the 3rd century, when the first Roman rampart was built, to the destruction of the last rampart at the beginning of the 20th century, when city limits were clearly defined and protected. In the 13th century, Metz acquired the privileges of a free city within the Holy German Empire. This means that the city directly depended on the Emperor and not on a prince of the Empire, and it had more freedom, its own jurisdiction, and was not obliged, for example, to participate in wars and crusades led by the Emperor. Anyway, the bourgeoisie rapidly enriched itself, Metz became a powerful oligarchic republic, and its neighbors began to seriously eye it. In response the city raised its walls and heightened its towers. That’s when the first Serpenoise Gate was built. It had a fortified bridge crossing the moat of the walls, marking the southern entrance to the city. Heavily damaged during the siege of Metz, the medieval tower was demolished to make way for the foundations of the new citadel of Metz established by the French in 1556. Yes, because in the meantime, the city had lost some of its wealth due to epidemics and religious wars and had grown closer to the French. That’s why Charles V besieged the city in 1552. Anyway, the new Serpenoise Gate you see there was built in 1852 and served as a link to the old train station. At the destruction of the walls in the early 20th century, the gate was kept and transformed into a sort of Triumphal Arch, decorated with bas-reliefs representing 4 historical events of Metz. You have the baker Harelle ringing the alarm and saving the city from attackers in the 15th century, the victory of the Duke of Guise over Charles V in the 16th century, the siege of 1870, and the liberation of 1918. A witness to history, the Serpenoise Gate remained the symbol of the possession of the city. Each time the city was annexed, the victors would parade underneath. In 1918, it’s through here that the Allied troops passed during the Liberation of Metz.