Steward’s Door

The Tombs of the Kings and Stewards of Gondor lay along Rath Dínen, the Silent Street. That street, in turn, lay within a narrow valley that fell between Minas Tirith and Mount Mindolluin that rose behind the City. There was only one way to reach this Silent Street of the dead, and that was by a narrow path that led down from the sixth circle of Minas Tirith. By tradition, that path could only be used by the ruler of Gondor (and also by those who worked to maintain the Tombs), and the way onto it was barred by a door. The door was most commonly called Fen Hollen, the Closed Door, because it was kept closed and locked, and watched over by a porter. In the days of the Ruling Stewards, because only the Steward was formally permitted to pass that way, the door of Fen Hollen was sometimes also called the Steward's Door.