{"id":2744,"date":"2014-11-12T10:49:49","date_gmt":"2014-11-12T10:49:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.spainexchange.com\/?p=2744"},"modified":"2026-10-09T14:03:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T14:03:08","slug":"puerta-de-bisagra-toledo-spain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spainexchange.com\/articles\/puerta-de-bisagra-toledo-spain\/","title":{"rendered":"Puerta de Bisagra, Toledo, Spain"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Puerta de Bisagra is the main gate in the north wall of Toledo and the first monument most visitors see when they walk up from the bus or train station. This post explains where the gate comes from, what to look at on each of its two parts, and how to reach it. For the city as a whole, see the city of Toledo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Two gates with one name<\/h2>\n

The full name is Puerta Nueva de Bisagra, the “new” Bisagra gate. The word “new” separates it from the older Puerta de Alfonso VI<\/a>, also called Puerta Vieja de Bisagra, which stands close by in the same stretch of wall. According to the Toledo tourist board, the name comes from the Arabic Bab-Shagra, “gate of the Sagra”, the plain north of the city.<\/p>\n

The age of the first gate on this spot is not settled. The regional heritage catalogue of Castilla-La Mancha says there is some debate about whether it was built in the Islamic period or later in Mudejar style, and that it must have been in poor condition when it was completely rebuilt in the 16th century. The tourist board describes it as Muslim in origin, with remains of that period in the inner part.<\/p>\n

The 16th-century rebuilding<\/h2>\n

The gate seen today was rebuilt under Charles V and Philip II. Several master builders worked on it; the best known is Alonso de Covarrubias, who drew the general design of the outer part. According to the heritage catalogue, the inner part, on the city side, was built around 1550, the outer part around 1559, and the works ended in 1576.<\/p>\n

The gate has been protected as a Bien de Inter\u00e9s Cultural, the highest level of heritage protection in Spain, since 1921.<\/p>\n

What to look at<\/h2>\n

The gate is made of two separate buildings joined by two high walls with battlements. Between them is a courtyard, the old parade ground, with a statue of Charles V on a pedestal.<\/p>\n