Schaffense Poort on the city side (Diest)

On the city side of the Schaffense Poort we see a rectangular brick and hard stone façade front (28 x 6 m), flanked by perpendicular, sloping retaining walls. The monumental, hard stone round arch gate divides the façade of the guardhouse into two symmetrical halves. Each half includes two spacious (5 x 3.9 m), vaulted classrooms with a common vestibule. We can't see it, but in the 2.6 meter thick walls between these rooms there is, among other things, a recess for the central boiler room. The tall chimneys are clearly visible above the grounding.

The guardhouse housed the officers, the soldiers on guard and a doorman. The officers and soldiers each had their own room. In the retaining walls there is a small round arch door and two vertical ventilation gaps. These are two latrines (3 x 1 m) of which, in accordance with the hierarchical rules, one was intended for the officers, the other for the soldiers.

Jan Rymenams