Imperial Gate (Museum)

The impressive Imperial Gate marks the end of the Imperial Road. Borna once had four town gates: the Altenburg Gate, the Pegau Gate with the torture chamber, the Roßmarkt Gate (also known as the Oil Tower, as this is where the oil for the street lighting was kept) and the Imperial Gate, which is the only surviving town gate.

The first gate tower was a timber-framed building. On its foundation walls, this gate was rebuilt in baroque style in 1723/24 by the Saxon Master Builder Naumann. On the southern side of the gate there had been the granary, later the malt house, since 1560. In 1882 it was demolished.

Since 1974, the Imperial Gate and the gatekeeper's house have housed the Borna City Museum. Here you can learn about the economic pillars of Borna's history - lignite mining, musical instrument making, field gardening and the 3rd Saxon Horse Regiment, famously known as Carabinier Regiment.

In the tower, you can visit the guardroom, two floors on medieval jurisdiction in the former detention cells and on the top floor for demonstration purpose, the replica of the Towerguards flat that was formerly in the church tower.