Gate of Pile, Walls of Dubrovnik

The Pile Gates are a well-fortified complex with multiple doors, defended by Fort Bokar and the moat that ran around the outside section of the city walls. At the entrance gate to the Old Town, on the western side of the land walls, there is a stone bridge between two Gothic arches, which were designed by the esteemed architect Paskoje Milicevic in 1471. That bridge connects to another bridge, a wooden drawbridge which can be pulled up. During the republican era, the wooden drawbridge to the Pile Gate was hoisted each night with considerable pomp in a ceremony which delivered the city's keys to the Ragusan rector. Today, it spans a dry moat whose garden offers respite from crowds. Above the bridges, over the arch of town's principal gateway, there is a statue of city patron Saint Blaise (Croatian: Sveti Vlaho), with a model of the Renaissance city. After passing the Pile Gate's original Gothic inner gateway, it is possible to reach one of a three access points to the city walls.