The Mill Gate is the only gate in the city with as many as four names – Mill, Harbour, Water and Heraldic Gate – and, even more remarkably, it is the only surviving urban water gate in Poland. One of its names comes from the mill built on the Mill Canal in the 13th century. For centuries the Gate has been one of the symbols of Stargard, appearing on the town’s coats of arms and seals as well as on numerous postcards and prints.
Its history goes back to the first half of the 15th century. At that time two octagonal towers were erected on either side of the Ina River and connected by a structure suspended above the riverbed. They are crowned with tall conical roofs and crenellations. Between them there was also a battlemented wall which for years bore the image of a griffin, the emblem featured in Stargard’s coat of arms. Over the centuries the building served many purposes – it housed a customs office, a commodity exchange, the market warden’s office and even a jail.
However, the greatest mysteries surround the distinctive chains hanging on both sides of the towers. Their purpose remains uncertain to this day, and local legends ascribe various meanings to them. They were said to symbolise the number of votes Stargard held at Hanseatic assemblies, to commemorate the town’s victory over Szczecin in the so-called Wheat War, or to have been used to hang lanterns lighting the harbour. Whatever their original function, the chains have become an inseparable part of the Gate’s image.
