The Brussels Gate forms the entrance to the city park and, together with the Mechelen Gate, is one of the two remaining gates of the former city fortifications.
The Original Gate
The original Brussels Gate was already mentioned in 1295–1296 as one of the four gates of the walled and fortified city. It was located to the southeast of the city on Brusselsestraat, the road to Brussels. After its destruction during the Ghent siege in 1380, damage during the siege of 1584, and subsequent repairs, the medieval city gate was eventually demolished in 1822.
The New Brussels Gate
The Dendermonde fortifications were built under Dutch rule between 1822 and 1830 as part of the allied border defense against France. In 1822, the current Brussels Gate was constructed according to the design of Captain-Engineer Cornelis Alewyn. This city gate consisted of an inner gate with a lifting mechanism and an inner bridge with brick and blue stone pillars.
The Brussels Gate Today
In the 1930s, the outer gate and outer bridge were demolished during the construction of the concrete viaduct over the railway. In the 1940s, the ravelin was converted into a city park. In the 1950s, a pergola was built using part of the blue stone pillars from the outer bridge.
The Brussels Gate you can admire today is therefore the inner gate from 1822. It was erected as a triumphal arch in the Neoclassical style. It has a massive brick core and is clad with limestone-sandstone. Blue stone is used in the arch frame, decorative moldings, and main cornice. The wrought- and cast-iron lifting mechanism has also been preserved.
