The Upper Gate, located at the southern tip of the city, is one of the highest gate towers in Lower Franconia at 36.36 meters high.

The Upper Gate was built in the middle of the 13th century in the early Gothic style. On August 18, 1293, it was documented as the first of Münnerstadt's town gates, as the "superior porta" (Latin for upper gate). At that time, the gate only had five storeys made of ashlar stones. It was not until 1570, under Prince-Bishop Julius Echter, that the sixth storey was added in Renaissance style using quarrystone masonry with corner ashlars.

The stone channels through which the portcullis once ran can still be seen on both sides of the ogival gate. In front of it there used to be a bridge that led over the moat, which has since been filled in.

Above both gate openings, 1.60 meter high figures of the Virgin Mary made of red and green sandstone from the 14th century were placed.

The original entrance was on the second floor on the city side. It was accessed from the rampart of the town wall, which was demolished at this point in the late 19th century to make it easier to enter the town. The round-arched opening and two corbels on which the wooden platform rested can still be seen. At that time, the current entrance was created on the north-west side, which has been accessible via a steel staircase since 2006.

On the outside of the fifth floor, a cast-iron bay window with a gabled roof sits on four corbels. There are two coats of arms on the corbels. On the left is the "hen" of the Counts of Henneberg. The coat of arms on the right could not be identified.

On the south-east side of the fifth floor there are two further corbels, which belonged to an abort oriel that no longer exists. On the north-east side, facing the town, there is a tower clock with the date "1778". This was faithfully reproduced in 2003.

On the sixth floor there is a well-preserved watchman's room. The Münnerstadt coat of arms was carved into the sandstone between the southern windows of the watchman's apartment.

On the gable roof is a small ridge turret with a bell dating from 1666. The inscription on the bell reads: "DEO SOLI GLORIA", which means "solely to the glory of God". The bell was cast in Würzburg

In 1958, the gate was extensively restored due to damage and cracks in the masonry. A steel corset was installed to improve the cohesion of the masonry. In the 20th century, the roof often had to be repaired due to several lightning strikes.

Up until 1973, traffic in the direction of the city ran through the gate and out of the city past the gate. It was only then that the road was widened so that traffic passed completely alongside the gate.

In 2003, the association "Freunde des Oberen Tores e.V." (Friends of the Upper Gate) was founded, which is still working to preserve the tower today.