Abstract: The invention relates to a flat gate valve for fluid applications having a sandwich design and including at least one input port, one output port, a top plate and a bottom plate, with a sliding element being provided between said top plate and said bottom plate, which sliding element can be used to modify the fluid paths and flow characteristics which are adjusted by the position of the sliding element relative to the top plate and the bottom plate. The invention is characterized in that at least one spacer is provided between said top plate and said bottom plate which defines a distance of said top plate to said bottom plate, which distance is larger by a gap of a defined gap size than the thickness of said sliding element, wherein the sealing of the flat gate valve is exclusively accomplished by means of the set gap.