Waterloo-Tor

A large number of soldiers from Osnabrück fought at the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815 under British high command, as part of the city’s territorial army regiments, its light field battalion or the King’s German Legion.

In 1816 a local resident, Gerhard Friedrich von Gülich, had donated 1,000 thalers to set up a memorial honouring his fellow citizens who had fought.

Juni 1815 deutschen Muth bewiesen / widmet dieses Denkmal G.F.v.Gülich D.R.D.“ (The fighters of Osnabrück who at Waterloo / on 18 June 1815 displayed German courage / are honoured by this memorial from G.F. v.Gülich D.R.D.

The gate’s platform is accessible by means of ramps on the sides of the wall or a flight of steps, allowing good views over the medieval Altstadt to the east; to the west lie the Kulturgeschichtliches Museum (Cultural History Museum), the Felix-Nussbaum-Haus art gallery, the Akzisehaus and the Stüve memorial and Stüve-Haus, which today acts as the local Volkshochschule (adult education centre).

[2] The gate can also be looked at as a passage between two urban worlds – the noisy, modern new town running along the Heger Tor wall on the outside, and the tranquil, traffic-calmed Altstadt on the inside.