Madrig Gate and Walls

Puerta de Madrid in Alcalá de Henares

The city of Alcalá de Henares was completely walled in the Middle Ages, and it was necessary to enter and leave the city through one of its gates. One of them is the Puerta de Madrid (Madrid Gate), originally a tower door that allowed to leave the city to the neighboring city of Madrid, was demolished in 1788 at the request of Cardinal Lorenzana and replaced by the monumental door that we can see today, work of the architect Antonio Juana Jordán..
In front of the Puerta de Madrid (Madrid Gate), in Alcalá, we can find one of the many inns that were in the city and the only one that remains today. It is the Inn of Hell or the Devil, mentioned in the apocryphal Don Quixote by the enigmatic Alonso de Avellaneda:
“They arrived at an inn in front of the Madrid Gate, and upon entering, Don Quixote asked for a secret and well-appointed room for Queen Cenobia”.

The Puerta de Madrid (Madrid Gate) also appears in the movie Spartacus (1956), directed by Stanley Kubrick. The monument is witness of a victorious parade of the slaves of Ancient Rome.

Medieval walls

In Sandoval y Rojas Street we find the inner wall that protected the Palacio del Arzobispado (Archbishop’s Palace). It was built in the 14th century, during the reign of Archbishop Tenorio. We arrive at the so-called Tower XIV, with a pointed arch and a powerful defensive machicolation. This door was the access to the Albacara, a fortified space that served as a refuge for the population in case of enemy siege. Inside the arch we can see the two original gorroneras and the buharda (opening for the vertical defense). The tower is in excellent condition.
This door leads to the Antiquarium, located inside the walls, where the remains of the splendid Palacio Arzobispal de Toledo (Archbishop’s Palace of Toledo), which disappeared in the fire of 1939, are exhibited. The remains of the Renaissance palace on display give an idea of its artistic and monumental richness. Capitals, bases, shafts, shields, balustrades and voussoirs, among others, are on exhibit. From this place you can see the whole walled enclosure of the palace and you can visit the inside of some of the towers.