According to the adage, ruling means foreseeing, and in fact it was during a period of peace and prosperity that Lille was enlarged for the fifth time and its defences strengthened: the Porte de Gand was built by Pierre Raoul under the Spanish occupation. On its outward-facing side it lost its battlements and its decoration, but its severity recalls that walls and ramparts must above all impress potential enemies, and that Lille was then frequently an object of envy. It was in the 17th century that Vauban doubled the defensive elements whose remains can be seen in the gardens. The interior façade is more attractive, patterned with polychrome bricks and with a high roof and stone-framed windows. The traditional sandstone base sits harmoniously in an old quarter occupied by several religious communities.
Access: Bus line 9, stop "Thionville"