Editing Holstentor (section)

=== Passageway and inscriptions ===
[[File:Holstentor02.jpg|thumb|left|Inscription on the field side of the Holsten Gate: CONCORDIA DOMI FORIS PAX]]
The passageway once had two gates on the field side, which have not survived. A [[portcullis]] installed in 1934 does not correspond to the original security installations. Instead, there was once a so-called "pipe organ" at this location, with individual bars which could be lowered separately rather than together as a set. Thus it was possible to first lower all but one or two rods, leaving a small gap for their own men to slip through later. There is an inscription over the passageway on both the city side and the field side.

On the city side it reads, "SPQL" and is framed by the years 1477 and 1871, the former being the supposed date of construction (the correct date is, however, now known to be 1478), the latter being the date of the gate's restoration and the founding of the [[German Empire|German Reich]]. This inscription was modeled on the Roman "SPQR" (Latin ''Senatus populusque Romanus'' - the Senate and People of Rome) and stands for ''Senatus populusque Lubecensis''. It was, however, affixed only in 1871. There was previously no inscription at this location. It would also have been pointless, since the view of the lower parts of the Holsten Gate from the city side was obscured by high walls.

There is another inscription on the field side. The text is "''concordia domi foris pax''" ("harmony within, peace outside"). This inscription is also from 1871 and is a shortened form of the text which had previously been on the (not preserved) foregate: "''Concordia domi et pax foris sane res est omnium pulcherrima''" ("Harmony within and peace outside are indeed the greatest good of all"; see "Outer Holsten Gate" below).