Puerta de Elvira en la Alhambra - Granada, Andalucía, España
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Ariberna
N 37° 10.930 W 003° 35.973
30S E 446781 N 4115249
The main access to Granada in Andalusia ( Spain ), during the Islamic domination , is known as Puerta de Elvira or Arco de Elvira .
Waymark Code: WM1625A
Location: Andalucía, Spain
Date Posted: 04/18/2022
Views: 2
The fortress gate is one of the oldest, since citations of it already appear in the 9th century . 1 Its name, bab-Ilvira , is due to the fact that it led to the old Medina Elvira , capital of the cora of the same name until the beginning of the 11th century , when Medina Garnata began to perform this function .
It was built during the 11th century by the Zirid sultans , integrated into the wall that linked it to the east with the Monaita Gate and to the southwest with the Gate of Antimony Sulfide , bab al-Kubl , —popularly known as Arco de las Tinajillas —. It has undergone different transformations throughout its history, the most important being the one carried out in the reign of Yusuf I of the Nasrid dynasty . At this time it was formed as an autonomous fortress with four towers, three barbicansand two doors —in addition to the exterior one— that communicated with the Cuesta de la Alhacaba and Calle de Elvira. In 1612 the three barbicans were demolished, the esplanade that preceded the gate was leveled and twelve houses attached to the wall were built, which have survived to this day practically unchanged. During the French occupation several iron-plated gates were destroyed and walls demolished, and in 1879 the Iron Gate ( bab al-Hadid ) also called the Slope Gate ( bab al-Aqaba ), which had been added in the xiv century to communicate the medina with the Albaicín .
At present, the exterior arch from the Nasrid period is preserved, flanked by two rammed earth towers , all topped by battlements, and the abutment on the north side, formed by three tall brick arches that support the corresponding walkway . The horseshoe arch, similar to those of the Puerta de la Justicia and Puerta de la Rambla , is made up of voussoirs , which are sandstone slabs, an archivolt of the same type and chamfered stone jambs .
Throughout the 20th century , it has undergone various restoration and consolidation works: in 1902 by Mariano Contreras , in 1957 under the direction of Francisco Prieto-Moreno , and in 1990 led by Antonio Almagro Gorbea and Antonio Orihuela Uzal. Since 2001 there has been a new intervention project on the door and adjacent walls.
It has been declared a National Historic-Artistic Monument since 1896.
In the collection of poems Diván del Tamarit by Granada-born poet and playwright Federico García Lorca you can find the poem “Gazelle of the morning market”, in which the Elvira Arch is referenced.
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