Brama Krowia, Gdańsk

Brama Krowia is a historic water gate, counted among Gdańsk’s oldest. It stands beside the Motława at the river end of Ogarna Street. Its passage and Krowi Bridge connect this shore with Granary Island.

Notice the sturdy masonry framing the gateway: this was a working threshold between the city and its waterfront. The gate was built during the fourteenth century. Its name likely comes from the route used to drive cattle through this area.

In the early twentieth century, municipal authorities completely remade the building, changing its medieval Gothic character into a historicist design that borrowed an earlier era’s appearance. The gate suffered comparatively little damage during the war, yet it was demolished and rebuilt to recover its pre-alteration form. Genuine medieval pieces were incorporated into that reconstruction.

Its architectural style is Gothic, the medieval manner associated with soaring, pointed forms and dramatic structure. Today the building also houses Gdańsk’s regional branch of the Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society.