Stargate

Rather than being a science fiction artefact that connects researchers and warriors with distant planets, the Sterntor (Star Gate) now connects the Münsterplatz (Minster Square) and a market square with a busy bus terminal called Friedensplatz (Peace Square). It is a bit fictitious though.

The original Sterntor was built in 1244 at the end of Sternstrasse, but it was torn down in 1898 to improve traffic flow. A replica was built in 1900, not far from the original location, attached to a half tower remaining from the old city wall. The stones used in the replica gate were from the original town fortifications and so match the tower remnant well.

The round amphitheatre-like structure in front of the gate is a fountain. It was not running when I visited, most likely because of the cold weather. There are citystories_bnx signs like this one, which shows the fountain in action, all over the city. They tend to be near interesting sites and provide visitors with the opportunity to read a personal story from a resident connected to this site. This one starts with the recollection of a party 40 or 50 years previously that the storyteller attended with their cousin. To read the full story, I would have had to scan the QR code.

Next to the gate is a low wall, at the end of which there is a Romanesque column, topped with a statue of the Bonn lion which appears to be crushing another animal, most likely a boar. My picture from the front of the lion doesn’t show the boar between its paws very well. To see the dominance you will need to visit Bonn yourself.

The lion remains the heraldic animal of Bonn, now showing on the city’s coat of arms below the black on silver cross of the former electoral state centred in Cologne.