The tower’s name refers to one of the vice governors of Gotland, L. R. Dalman. It was built over an original gateway in the oldest wall, still visible in the gateway arch. Access to the upper part of the tower was gained through doors on the second storey of the masonry, from the archer gallery. In the room above the archway there is an open fireplace, indicating that this room was used as a heated shelter for the men on guard. The portcullis is a reconstruction; all gateways were once furnished with a similar portcullis. Above the recess for the portcullis is a niche which may once have contained the statue of a saint. Like most of the other towers, this one may have had a plank wall on the town side during the Middle Ages. It was walled up and roofed over as we see it now in 1784, for use as a granary.
The 17-meter-high tower also served as a navigation mark for the medieval port, together with the tower of St.Mary's Church. The gate might have been located here to provide easy access for haulage to the attic storeroom of St. Mary's Church.
Today the gateway provides pedestrians with a fine entrance into the World Heritage Site. The magnificent view of the town from the cliff terrace Klinten, with St.Mary's Church in the foreground, is stunningly beautiful.
