The Saspoort (Diest)

The Saspoort was also called 'Demerpoort'. This water gate was also built during the construction of the 19th-century defensive belt around Diest. The gate was equipped with a lock. For example, the vessels in the city and the vests could be provided with water from the Demer. At the same time, this water gate drained the Begijnebeek.

By closing the lock, a floodplain could be created on the east side of the fortress in about 48 hours. After all, the east side was the direction from which an attack from the Dutch was expected. Once the water level had reached a certain height, level 20, the excess water was diverted via an overflow 'de Teerlings' in the Zwarte Beek in order to prevent that too high a water level would make the flooded area navigable and that the fortress as such could still be attacked over the water.

Since the diversion of the Demer in the 60s of the last century to avoid flooding in the city, the lock gate is no longer functional.

The 'tube' under the ramparts is about 25.6 meters long. Both on the city and field side we see a baking and hard stone façade. This is broken by round-arched openings 5 meters wide. The keystone bears the year 1841.

Unique for Belgium is that there was a special type of lock on the city side of the construction, namely a fan lock. The special feature of an impeller lock is that, unlike the usual pointed doors of an ordinary lock, it can be opened against the current .

Jan Rymenams