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A portal is an opening in a wall of a building, gate or fortification, especially a grand entrance to an important structure. Doors, metal
gate A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word derived from old Norse "gat" meaning road or path; But other terms include ''yett and port''. The concept originally referred to the gap or hole in the wall ...
s, or
portcullis A portcullis (from Old French ''porte coleice'', "sliding gate") is a heavy vertically-closing gate typically found in medieval fortifications, consisting of a latticed grille made of wood, metal, or a combination of the two, which slides down ...
in the opening can be used to control entry or exit. The surface surrounding the opening may be made of simple building materials or decorated with ornamentation. The elements of a portal can include the
voussoir A voussoir () is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault. Although each unit in an arch or vault is a voussoir, two units are of distinct functional importance: the keystone and the springer. T ...
, tympanum, an ornamented
mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid sup ...
or ''trumeau'' between doors, and
column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression (physical), compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column i ...
s with carvings of saints in the westwork of a
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...
.


Examples

File:Baroque portal in Brescia.jpg, Baroque portal of a private palace in
Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and '' comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo ...
File:Dülmen, St.-Viktor-Kirche, Eingangsportal -- 2021 -- 4504-10.jpg, Wooden portal of the Church of St. Victor in
Dülmen Dülmen () is a town in the district of Coesfeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Dülmen is situated in the south part of the Münsterland area, between the Lippe river to the south, the Baumberge hills to the north and the Ems r ...
File:Porto - Sant Martí de Cedofeita - Façana principal.JPG, Romanesque portal of the Church of São Martinho de Cedofeita, with nested
arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vau ...
es File:Hronsky Benadik-Hlavny portal klastorneho kostola.jpg, Gothic portal of the church in
Hronský Beňadik Hronský Beňadik (1920–1948: , 1948–1960: ; german: Sankt Benedikt; hu, Garamszentbenedek, until 1888: ; la, Sanctus Benedictus) is a village in central Slovakia. It has a population of 1233 (2005). According to the local tourist informati ...
File:FI-Tampere-2019-09-08T153429EEST lc.JPG, Romantic portal of the St. John's Cathedral in
Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population ...
File:Metz Cathédrale St. Étienne Portal 2.jpg, Gothic portal of the Cathedral of Saint Stephen in
Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...
File:Karaman Hatuniye Medresi 4812.jpg, ''Taşkapı'' (stone gatehouse) of the
Hatuniye Medresesi Hatuniye Medresseh ( tr, Hatuniye Medresesi), is a historical medrese in Karaman, Turkey, built in the 14th century. The like-named Hatuniye Külliyesi in Tokat is a century younger, and refers to another woman. History Ottoman Sultan Murat ...
in
Karaman Karaman, historically known as Laranda ( Greek: Λάρανδα), is a city in south central Turkey, located in Central Anatolia, north of the Taurus Mountains, about south of Konya. It is the capital district of the Karaman Province. Accordin ...
File:Murad darvazası.JPG,
Murad's Gate , image = Eastern portal (Ichery Sheher).JPG , caption = General view of the gate , location = Old City, Baku, Azerbaijan , designer = Amirshah Tabrizi , type = Portal , material = , length = , wid ...
in the Palace of the Shirvanshahs,
Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world an ...


Other uses

The term ''portal'' is also applied to the ends of a tunnel.


See also

*
Portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cul ...


References

{{Authority control Doors