Keizerspoort Gate

Originally, Keizerspoort Gate was fourteen metres high. It was built in a North-Italian Renaissance style. Its façade was decorated with half-pillars that rested on pilasters. A square pediment adorned the top of the gate, in which two lions held aloft the coat of arms of Emperor Charles V. The foundations of the gate were discovered during an archaeological survey in Leopoldplaats in 2002. It was a massive rectangular building, clad in “Lede” sand-limestone bricks on the side of the moat. The half-pillars were found to be in perfect condition during the excavation. The foundations were dug up and rebuilt in the underground car park of the National Bank.