Toledo, Spain: the fortified medieval capital

Hello archi lovers!

Again sharing relevant and interesting places, where architecture preeminently draws attention, especially when it accumulates centuries of history, culture and a lot of beauty that has survived time.

This time we will visit Toledo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a historic Spanish city of great importance as it was the first capital of the Kingdom of Spain and holds many iconic places worth visiting. But it will not be a long and boring visit, full of names, dates or data, simply a walk where you can observe details without much pretension. But for more data, as I forgot a couple of names, we can visit the Wikipedia page about this city.

We begin by crossing the Tagus River by one of its medieval stone bridges, those bridges that remain immobile over the years, centuries and the flow of water. And we headed mostly to the more historic downtown area on a fabulous day.

What amazes us is the fabulous stone wall that encloses the entire old part, a proportioned and beautiful wall that we want to go around and cross. For this there are several gates, such as the Puerta de Bisagra (Bisagra Gate), one of the most important, but from the lower part we can see towers, flags, elegant buildings and much more.

From there we already perceive the accumulation of different architecture from different eras and styles, from medieval, Renaissance, Muslim, Jewish, nineteenth-century and also modern. Because we see a footbridge that connects with the Congress Palace, a modern work that curiously does not clash with the more classical environment, there is a certain harmony within the eclectic panorama.

We enter and walk through narrow streets always in the shade and look at the different balconies, some wrought iron and balconies or windows that will have seen a lot. And also doors of different styles that testify to the coexistence between different cultures at one time: Christians, Muslims and Jews came to live in this city, although it was a Jew who opened the doors for the Muslim bands to conquer the city. But that is another story or history…

We are left with those churches, monuments, solid stone walls, statues and trees that surround the wall, and we are also left with the views from the top, from where we admire another relevant building, an old hospital now converted into an art museum. Because in addition to history there is a lot of art, this city became the home of El Greco, that famous Greek painter who produced marvelous, innovative and distinctive works for the Spanish Monarchy.

And so we left through another of the famous doors, the Puerta del Sol (Sun Gate). To continue touring other areas like this, we came up close with the well-known Tavera Hospital-Museum, elegant, simple and austere, but equally imposing and beautiful.

We can distinguish many different styles, times and architectural elements, we can visit more, the Alcázar or the Cathedral, or other churches, or simply walk through nearby parks, under a tree and admire before leaving again the impressive wall that in its time fortified the first capital of Spain.

Toledo, Spain ❤️ Europe

Thanks so much for reading! Have an amazing and nice day.

The text is totally mine and the photos too, by ©Duvinca

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