The Rossgarten Gate is one of seven surviving city gates of Kaliningrad. Named after the district Rossgarten, the current gate replaced a previous version of the gate from the beginning of the 17th century. It was constructed between 1852-1855 under the supervision of Wilhelm Ludwig Stürmer. The gate was damaged after the war, but restored afterwards and currently houses a café-restaurant called Solnetsnyy Kamen ('Solar Stone').
The gate consists of only one passage of about four meters wide. On both sides of the passage three casemates are located, so the gate in total has seven openings. On top of the facade of the gate can be found a series of merlons, divided into two parts by the central elevated part of the gate. The gate itself has two high octagonal turrets. Above the main arch of the gate a lookout area is situated, again equipped with merlons. Reliefs of the Prussian generals Gerhard von Scharnhorst and August Neidhardt von Gneisenau decorate the main arch. While the city side of the gate is a highly decorated, the outer side does not have any decorative ornaments.
References:Herceg Novi was founded (on a former small fishing village, existing since Roman Empire times) as a fortress in 1382 by first Bosnian King Stjepan Tvrtko I and was called Sveti Stefan or Castelnuovo. The Turks conquered Herceg Novi in 1482, and ruled for 200 years, until 1687. However, there was a short pause between 1538 and 1539 when it was held by the Spaniards before they were defeated in the Siege of Castelnuovo. Turkey ruled again until 1687, from then until 1797, the town was ruled by the Venetian Republic.
The Herceg Novi old town is amazing. It is on a fairly steep hill that leads all the way down to the sea. Wandering through the small stairways to the various plazas and fortresses is a many hour adventure.