Almost every day in our daily life we use the gates without thinking about their history. And it is completely in vain, because in order to understand the value of what surrounds us, it is necessary to know the history of the subject. Therefore, before you buy, let's get to know them better.
Today, a gate is a structure located in a wall or fence and locked with special gates. Often are used to restrict access to any territory, but this does not mean that they cannot be used for decorative purposes. In this case, they usually do not have gates and look like an ordinary arch. The gate, which our ancestors used, had a special meaning. They performed not so much the practical function of passage or passage, as they carried the symbolic meaning of the city center. In such a place, all the most important events of city life took place - meetings, trade, court, transactions. Entering the city through them had the symbolic meaning of a military triumph.
However, this design did not immediately appear in the form in which we are used to presenting them. The first mention of the prototype of the gate takes us back to ancient times. The gates of those times are ordinary stones, which moved the entrance to the cave - the dwelling of an ancient man. Such a barrier saved the inhabitants of the cave from wild animals, and from severe frosts, and from the attack of enemies. This was the reason to think about more comfortable products. They did not have an exquisite appearance, were made of wood and performed a purely practical function. After some time, they began to be covered with iron, but such gates played only a decorative role and were very heavy. They were not affordable for everyone, since the iron cost a lot. Later, lighter alloys appeared and those made of steel displaced wood and iron from active production.
Seeing the gates of ancient times, a modern person would be surprised, because these were just spacious entrances to stone buildings. IX century - these are typical arches connecting two stone columns. They were called “portals.” In the Middle Ages, they performed not only the function of opening and closing the passage to the city, but also the function of a bridge. The cities of those times were surrounded by special moats filled with water, and the opening ones allowed to overcome the obstacle and get into the city. They are considered the first gates, which served as their creation of the invention in the future of automatic and semi-automatic designs. In our country, in addition to possible aesthetic and practical roles, they also performed a certain religious function. The fact is that the gates were located oriented to the cardinal points, and therefore were used for church rituals. As for the courtyards about
