La Puerta de Bisagra takes its name from the old northern entrance gate to Toledo from the Sagra area. The old name of the gate was Bab-al-Sagra and it was an Islamic construction built between the 10th and 11th centuries. Only small fragments of the original construction can be seen inside the parade ground. The current door is the result of the Renaissance reforms that were carried out in the 16th century to modernize Toledo and adapt it to its status as imperial capital for the king Charles I.
Within the framework of these urban modifications, the architect Alonso de Covarrubias designed a large triumphal arch with two semicircular towers in the outer body made with large granite ashlars . Above the arch of the door presides over the entire entrance in a double-headed eagle converted by the emperor into the city's shield and next to it the figure of the two seated kings accompanying the shield. At the top an angel with a drawn sword guards the entire city of Toledo.
Inside the door there is a small parade ground where a plaster statue of Emperor Charles V is exhibited, made as a copy of the one in Granada on the occasion of the exhibition dedicated to the Emperor in 1958. The inner door of the gate is Composed of twin towers, it is the work of Nicolás de Vergara Mozo at the end of the 16th century. In the central part there is a small room that served as the warden's home for collecting taxes. The towers are topped with ceramic spiers with the shield of Charles V, the work of the ceramist Aguado, made in the 20th century.
Hinge Door Surroundings: