Water gate

The Waterpoort  is a water gate, a gate in a defensive wall that connects a city to a waterway. It is situated in Sneek a little city in the province Friesland in the north of the country.

In the 15th and 16th century, a defensive wall had been built around Sneek. The city lay on the important trade route between Leeuwarden and Stavoren, from which the rich western parts of the Netherlands (now North Holland and South Holland) could be reached. To facilitate this trade, a new harbour called the "Kolk" was built to the southwest of the city and in 1613 the Waterpoort was erected to connect city and harbour. It formed part of the city walls, but when large parts of these were demolished in the early 18th century, it was decided to leave the Waterpoort intact.

The backside looks beautiful, like an open castle.

From the inside you had a look at the water tower built in 1908 and 44 metres high.

A look at the gate seen from the city canal.