Seventh Gate

The city of Minas Tirith was divided into seven ascending tiers, each served by its own gate from the tier below. The last of these gates, the Seventh Gate, led to the highest point of the city, the Citadel, with its great White Tower looming over the Place of the Fountain that held the White Tree of the Eldar.

The way to the Seventh Gate led westward and upward from the sixth level of the city, cutting directly through the great bastion of rock that ran up through all seven levels of Minas Tirith. The gate was approached by a lamplit tunnel through the rock, sloping up towards the High Court. The Seventh Gate itself was held within an arch, the keystone of which was carved as a crowned head. Beyond the crowned gate lay the seat of the Kings of Gondor, and of the Stewards who ruled after them.

The High Court beyond the Seventh Gate was guarded by the elite force known as the Guards of the Citadel, black-cloaked and bearing winged helms made from mithril. Beyond the Seventh Gate, no horse was permitted, and so when Gandalf and Peregrin Took passed this way, even Gandalf's great horse Shadowfax was not allowed entrance through the gate.