Osthofentor, Soest

The Osthofentor is a city gate of the Hanseatic city of Soest on the Hellweg, newly built in the period from 1594 to 1603. The sandstone building is the last surviving of formerly eight main gates and two side gates.

In 1534, the gateway was the place of execution for ten Anabaptists, probably missionaries of the Münster Anabaptist Empire.

In 1965, it was depicted in the Deutsche Bundespost stamp series German Buildings from Twelve Centuries.

The Museum of the City History was established in the Osthofentor from 1978 to 1982. It has a collection of 25,000 medieval crossbow bolts. This is the old armory treasure of the city of Soest, which until the beginning of the 19th century was housed in the tower of St. Patrokli, which did not belong to the church but to the city and also served as an armory.

The Osthofentor can also be found en miniture among other outstanding German monuments in the Mini-Europe in Brussels.