LEOPOLD'S GATE

Leopold's Gate is located in the front of the Zindan Gate, near the restaurant "Kalemegdanska terasa" and the Zoo, in a bastion built in the 17th century.

Click on the map to get directions.

The gate was built between 1688 and 1690 during the reign of Emperor Leopold, after whom it was named. There is a monogram “L.P.” (Leopold Primus) engraved above the entrance of the gate. A closer look into the way it was built shows that the Leopold Gate is similar to the other entrances to the upper city — the King’s Gate and the Clock Gate. These three gates were built in the same time period, during the last decades of the 17th century, based on the ideas of the architect Andrea Cornaro.
In 1723, during the second Austrian rule of Belgrade in the period between 1717-1739, this gate was given a decorative baroque facade. Along the side of the gate, a new room for guard accommodation was installed.
Above the arch of the portal, which is elliptical, the monogram L.P. was engraved in memory of Emperor Leopold. During his reign, Belgrade was liberated from Ottoman rule for the first time (1688). On the sides of the gate, there are two relatively low niches decorated with a broken bow, which is a characteristic of oriental art. The pavement inside the gate is now made of grenade cubes, but originally it was in the form of cobblestone. The facade is also decorated with two stone cannonballs.
During the bombings of 1914 and 1915, the Leopold Gate suffered minor damage even though many other buildings were destroyed. The reconstruction of the Belgrade Fortress was carried out before WWII, and during this time the bastions south of the Leopold Gate were strengthened.