Wikipedia :
Koepoort
Location Middelburg
Status and timeline
Status national monument
orig. function city gate
Build ready 1739
Architecture
Build style Baroque
Building info
Architect Jan Pieter van Baurscheidt de Jonge and Jan de Munck
The Koepoort in Middelburg is, of the once eight city gates, the only one that has been preserved in its entirety. The gate, built in late Louis XIV style , was designed by architect Jan Pieter van Baurscheidt de Jonge and city architect Jan de Munck . The gate was built in the first half of the eighteenth century and was the successor to several earlier cow gates. Where the earlier gates served as defenses, the new gate mainly served as an ornamental gate.
History
There is first mention of a Koepoort in Middelburg in the 13th-14th century, which presumably stood in the vicinity of the Spanjaardstraat, opposite the Spuistraat. In 1593 this gate was replaced and moved to the end of the current Koepoortstraat and the then edge of the urban development. It was a wooden gate. Middelburg, however, soon expanded and at the time of the city's expansion in 1595-98 a new Koepoort was built on the northeast side of the Molenwater . A hameide was placed here in 1653 .
After Jan de Munck was appointed city architect by the city council in 1730 , he was assigned to carry out work for the construction of a new gate. He collaborated with the Antwerp architect Jan Pieter Baurscheidt de Jonge, who had already submitted his first design for the gate on 29 September 1733. On March 19, 1735, one of the designs was approved and the demolition of the old gate and the construction of a new gate could begin. Brick was used for the walls, bluestone , and Bentheimer stone for the two weapons and the eight vases. These vases were delivered in 1739 with which the gate could be delivered.
The eight gates of Middelburg were demolished one by one during the 18th and 19th centuries, mainly because they had lost their defensive function, or to make way for new projects, such as the Canal through Walcheren . Since no projects were realized around the Koepoort, and it had no defensive function, this gate was spared demolition. However, between 1841-1848 the ramparts were turned into a walking area, after a design by landscape architect Karel George Zocher.. This project was mainly realized to create social employment. During these works, the drawbridge at the Koepoort was removed so that it was no longer directly connected to the Veersesingel. Instead, a ferry was used for which toll had to be paid. In 1871 a new ferry was delivered by the Middelburgsche Commercie Compagnie , which remained in use until 1888. In the same year a wooden bridge was built.
The Koepoort with the wooden bridge, in use between 1888-1923.
However, traffic increased and the bridge was replaced by a stone bridge in 1923, over which cars could also pass. Roadways were also placed around the gate to relieve traffic through the gate.
Restoration
Over time, a large part of the Koepoort had become overgrown with ivy . When it was decided in 1992 to restore the gate, the first step was to remove this ivy, which showed that the structural condition was very bad. The masonry was cracked and thickened in many places. The first and second wooden cornices were completely infested by woodworm, wood fungus, rodent beetles and longhorn beetles, causing irreparable damage. Also, the stone ornaments were loose because the iron anchors and docks had rusted away. The most problems had arisen because the iron anchorage was walled in with shell lime mortarand the reaction with moisture had caused the formation of rust. This caused an increase in volume, which put stress on the stones and masonry. The internal structure was therefore also broken in many places, or had already perished. As a result, the gate had to undergo a major renovation.
Occupancy
Space was created in the Koepoort where the gatekeepers could stay. In 1863 a fire hose was housed in the Koepoort. At the beginning of the twentieth century, two families lived in the cow gate in two identical small rooms. During the Second World War there was a small shop and the German occupier tried to install a radio disrupter there. After the war, the Koepoort came into use as the home of the Korstanje couple, who lived in the Koepoort until July 1969. After this it stood empty for several years, but from 1980 to 2016 it was used as the studio and home of the artist Leendert van der Pool . In 2018, the Koepoort was internally renovated into two B&B apartments under the supervision of architect Bernard Vercouteren.
Ian