Poarta Ecaterinei is the prettiest of Brasov's surviving fortifications — a square tower with four corner turrets, built in 1559 to control access between the Saxon walled town and the Romanian quarter of Schei beyond it. The four turrets had a practical purpose: a town with this signal could exercise the ius gladii, the right of capital punishment.
The gate sits at the southwestern corner of the medieval walls, with the Schei Gate (a later 19th-century arch) standing immediately next to it. Inside is a small permanent exhibition of stonework fragments. The whole ensemble is best photographed from a few steps back along Strada Poarta Schei.