Puerta del Pilar

This was one of the entrances to the fortified city of Badajoz, built in 1692. It gives access to the Bastion of San Roque, originally by a drawbridge over the surrounding moat. The facade is very simple, but it has two sides: on the outside there is a small niche devoted to the Virgen del Pilar (an incarnation of the Virgin Mary, who gives her name to the door) and silk screened paintings; inside you can see the shields of the Austrians and the Count of Montijo, who ordered its construction.