The Upper Gate (Das Obere Tor)

The trade route from Nuremberg to Leipzig ran through the centre of Saalfeld. Horses and carts passed through the Upper Gate here. Its counterpart was the Blankenburg Gate, which you will see later on in your tour.
The Upper Gate dates from the 15th Century. Following a serious town fire at the start of the 18th Century, it was rebuilt with a complex timber roof structure in baroque style.
On the outer face of the gate you will notice the stone guides for the portcullis. This closed the narrow pointed archway. Mounted above the arch on the town side is the town’s coat of arms.
The Upper Gate is one of five gate towers and numerous wall towers that belonged to the town wall. Standing in front of the Upper Gate is the “Saalfelder Hulber” which, since the 1100 year celebrations, has served to symbolise the “Chronicle in Stone”

In the 19th Century, not far from the Upper Gate, Adolf Knoch’s sewing machine factory was built. It was one of the first of its kind in Germany, and the industrialist had obtained his know-how from the American firm of Singer. It was this firm that caused an enormous economic increase for the town.

Now follow the narrow street and the Schwarze Gasse as far as the “Hoher Schwarm” castle ruin, and the former Church of St Nicholas.