Portal (architecture)

A portal is an opening in a wall of a building, gate or fortification, especially a grand entrance to an important structure. Doors, metal gates, or portcullis 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, tympanum, an ornamented mullion or trumeau between doors, and columns with carvings of saints in the westwork of a church. File:Baroque portal in Brescia.jpg|Baroque portal of a private palace in [[Brescia]] File:Dülmen, St.-Viktor-Kirche, Eingangsportal -- 2021 -- 4504-10.jpg|Wooden portal of the Church of St. Victor in [[Dülmen]] File:Porto - Sant Martí de Cedofeita - Façana principal.JPG|Romanesque portal of the [[Church of São Martinho de Cedofeita]], with nested [[arch]]es File:Hronsky Benadik-Hlavny portal klastorneho kostola.jpg|Gothic portal of the church in [[Hronský Beňadik]] File:FI-Tampere-2019-09-08T153429EEST lc.JPG|Romantic portal of the [[Tampere Cathedral|St. John's Cathedral]] in [[Tampere]] File:Metz Cathédrale St. Étienne Portal 2.jpg|Gothic portal of the [[Metz Cathedral|Cathedral of Saint Stephen]] in [[Metz]] File:Karaman Hatuniye Medresi 4812.jpg|''Taşkapı'' (stone gatehouse) of the [[Hatuniye Medresesi]] in [[Karaman]] File:Murad darvazası.JPG|[[Murad's Gate]] in the [[Palace of the Shirvanshahs]], [[Baku]] The term portal is also applied to the ends of a tunnel.