Porte Chaussée

Official entrance to the city since its construction in the 14th century and defensive element of the Great Rampart that surrounded Verdun in the Middle Ages. It was offered to the city by the bourgeois Wautrec, a member of the aldermen. It symbolises the new status of Verdun, which became an "imperial free city" in 1374. This status obliged the city to maintain its ramparts itself and to organise its defence in case of attack.

TO SEE
-- the defensive elements of a medieval rampart: portcullis, crenellations, drawbridge mechanism,
-- the decorative and useful ornaments of a medieval edifice such as gargoyles.