Gates of Alcala

Alcal Gate – a monument on Independence Square in Madrid, Spain. The style is transitional from baroque to classicism. The gate is located in the city center near the main entrance to the Buen Retiro park. The square bisects Alcalá Street, the longest street in the Spanish capital, which, however, does not intersect with the gates themselves. From here originate Alfonso XII street, Serrano street and Olozaga street.nJust like the street of the same name, the gate owes its name to the old route from Madrid to the city of Alcalá de Henares.nMadrid at the end of the 18th century still resembled medieval walled cities surrounded by ramparts. Around 1774, King Charles III commissioned the architect Francesco Sabatini to build instead of the old narrow gates in the city wall a monumental gate through which the extended road to the city of Alcalá de Henares had to go. In 1778, the gates were opened.