Puerta del León - Seville

The Lion's Gate or La Montería Gate is the main entrance to the Royal Alcazar of Seville. The gate is the main entrance to the Courtyard of the Lion and the Palace of King Pedro I.

The gate is built in Almohad style and is 8.50 meters high.

The name documented in writings from before the 19th century is the Puerta de la Montería. The name of the gate is known to come from the courtyard to which the gate gives access, the Montería Courtyard . The origin of the name of this courtyard is unknown, although several hypotheses have been put forward. The most accepted is that the courtyard was decorated with hunting scenes. Today the gate is better known as the Lion's Gate due to the image of a lion on the lintel of the gate, with the Latin inscription 'Ad Utrumque'. The current name seems to have originated in 19th century romantic literary circles.

The lion figure on the lintel of the door is formed by a tile panel of Triana ceramics from the Mensaque factory of 1892, according to a project by the historian José Gestoso y Pérez.

Crossing the 12th century Moorish wall you enter the courtyard of the Lion. To the left of this courtyard is the Hall of Justice and to the rear there is a set of three arches in a wall, the remains of an ancient Almohad wall that was part of the defense work of the Alcázar . Passing through the arches you enter the courtyard of the Montería.

Willem Vandenameele