Royal Palace of Madrid, Madrid, Spain

The Royal Palace of Madrid (Palacio Real de Madrid) is the official residence of the Spanish Royal Family at the city of Madrid, but it is only used for state ceremonies. Several rooms in the palace are regularly open to the public except during state functions.

The palace is located on the site of a 9th-century Alcázar (Muslim-era fortress), near the town of Magerit, constructed as an outpost by Muhammad I of Córdoba and inherited after 1036 by the independent Moorish Taifa of Toledo. After Madrid fell to King Alfonso VI of Castile in 1083, the edifice was only rarely used by the kings of Castile. In 1329, King Alfonso XI of Castile convened the cortes of Madrid for the first time. King Felipe II moved his court to Madrid in 1561.

The old Alcázar was built on the location in the 16th century. After it burned 24 December 1734, King Felipe V ordered a new palace built on the same site. Construction spanned the years 1738 to 1755 and followed a Berniniesque design by Filippo Juvarra and Giovanni Battista Sacchetti in cooperation with Ventura Rodríguez, Francesco Sabatini, and Martín Sarmiento. King Carlos III first occupied the new palace in 1764.

The last monarch who lived continuously in the palace was King Alfonso XIII, although Manuel Azaña, president of the Second Republic, also inhabited it, making him the last head of state to do so.

The palace has 135,000 square metres of floor space and contains 3,418 rooms. It is the largest royal palace in Europe by floor area. The interior of the palace is notable for its wealth of art and the use of many types of fine materials in the construction and the decoration of its rooms. These include paintings by artists such as Caravaggio, Francisco de Goya, and Velázquez, and frescoes by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Juan de Flandes, Corrado Giaquinto, and Anton Raphael Mengs. Other collections of great historical and artistic importance preserved in the building include the Royal Armoury of Madrid, porcelain, watches, furniture, silverware, and the world's only complete Stradivarius string quintet.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Raihan Jamil (12 months ago)
Must See Place in Madrid. I visited this place on April 7 2019 with my wife and toddler. We just LOVED it! The rooms that you can visit are amazing, especially the ceilings’ art works. The whole courtyard is huge and full of pigeons that my daughter enjoyed chasing. The armory is great! Crazy stuff. We just did not know we had to buy extra ticket to visit the kitchen :( So that was sad. After two hours of the self guided tour, we did not feel like going out, buying another ticket, and coming back in to see the kitchen. So one star less. No pics are allowed inside the palace rooms. Otherwise I would have posted 100! Amazing stuff. Easily the best attraction in Madrid. Tip: Buy your ticket online. Always a HUGE line for tickets at the palace.

suma jaini (13 months ago)
Amazing rooms! So much grandeur. It looks ok from outside but some of the rooms are out of the world. We took a guide to escape lines and we thought it was boring. If u can buy tickets online and wait in the line for a bit, totally worth the price and good for a quick visit.

Phillip Pirrip (13 months ago)
First bit of advice, take a little extra time and effort to find the correct queue for waiting to get into the palace. It's not well defined when the lines get long and the staff isn't very proactive in managing and assisting people outside. Second, purchase tickets online in advance as that queue moves a little faster. The palace grounds, architecture, art, furnishings and history are simply amazing. After entering the main hall no photos are allowed, but that's were the tour does the palace most justice, so the images I'm able to share are just a brief glimpse. Worth visiting if you are in Madrid.

Karine B (13 months ago)
This is really nice palace. It is supposed to be larger than any other palace in Europe if I understood my English speaking guide but it doesn’t feel that way in my opinion. You can’t take photos inside so I am sorry I can’t show you all so you will have to see it for yourselves but it is worth it. The rooms are really nice and elegantly decorated. You can feel the power.

Umar Mukhtar (14 months ago)
Its such a great palace, with so much regal elegance and magnificent interiors. This is the biggest palace in Western Europe, even bigger than the Palace of Versailles. This palace far surpassed my expectations. Each royal room is like a gem. They build up your excitement, as rooms get better and better as you progress inside the palace. Its a pity we cannot take pictures of those magnificent rooms. The Royal Kitchen is also a nice place to see, with entry only allowed through a guided tour. The palace has amazing gardens, which are free to visit. Highly recommended !

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Arnie Papp

Historic Site of the week

Klis Fortress

From its origin as a small stronghold built by the ancient Illyrian tribe Dalmatae, becoming a royal castle that was the seat of many Croatian kings, to its final development as a large fortress during the Ottoman wars in Europe, Klis Fortress has guarded the frontier, being lost and re-conquered several times. Due to its location on a pass that separates the mountains Mosor and Kozjak, the fortress served as a major source of defense in Dalmatia, especially against the Ottoman advance, and has been a key crossroad between the Mediterranean belt and the Balkan rear.

Since Duke Mislav of the Duchy of Croatia made Klis Fortress the seat of his throne in the middle of the 9th century, the fortress served as the seat of many Croatia"s rulers. The reign of his successor, Duke Trpimir I, the founder of the Croatian royal House of Trpimirović, is significant for spreading Christianity in the Duchy of Croatia. He largely expanded the Klis Fortress, and in Rižinice, in the valley under the fortress, he built a church and the first Benedictine monastery in Croatia. During the reign of the first Croatian king, Tomislav, Klis and Biograd na Moru were his chief residences.

In March 1242 at Klis Fortress, Tatars who were a constituent segment of the Mongol army under the leadership of Kadan suffered a major defeat while in pursuit of the Hungarian army led by King Béla IV. After their defeat by Croatian forces, the Mongols retreated, and Béla IV rewarded many Croatian towns and nobles with 'substantial riches'. During the Late Middle Ages, the fortress was governed by Croatian nobility, amongst whom Paul I Šubić of Bribir was the most significant. During his reign, the House of Šubić controlled most of modern-day Croatia and Bosnia. Excluding the brief possession by the forces of Bosnian King, Tvrtko I, the fortress remained in Hungaro-Croatian hands for the next several hundred years, until the 16th century.

Klis Fortress is probably best known for its defense against the Ottoman invasion of Europe in the early 16th century. Croatian captain Petar Kružić led the defense of the fortress against a Turkish invasion and siege that lasted for more than two and a half decades. During this defense, as Kružić and his soldiers fought without allies against the Turks, the military faction of Uskoks was formed, which later became famous as an elite Croatian militant sect. Ultimately, the defenders were defeated and the fortress was occupied by the Ottomans in 1537. After more than a century under Ottoman rule, in 1669, Klis Fortress was besieged and seized by the Republic of Venice, thus moving the border between Christian and Muslim Europe further east and helping to contribute to the decline of the Ottoman Empire. The Venetians restored and enlarged the fortress, but it was taken by the Austrians after Napoleon extinguished the republic itself in 1797. Today, Klis Fortress contains a museum where visitors to this historic military structure can see an array of arms, armor, and traditional uniforms.

Do you know an ancient castle or magnificent church near you?

Why not share it with other people interested in history? You can add your own historic sites and attractions to SpottingHistory.com.

It's absolutely free, easy, and doesn't even need registration!

Upload data

Looks like you are a history fan!

Do you know an ancient castle or hidden ruins near you?

Why not share it with other people interested in history? You can add your own historic sites and attractions to SpottingHistory. It's absolutely free, easy, and you can do it even without registration (of course you an also create an free account)!

Royal Palace of Madrid

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Cultural Landscape of Sintra, Portugal

The Beauty of Cinque Terre

Must-See Historic Places in Córdoba

Historic Site of the week

Klis Fortress

Looks like you are a history fan!

Do you know an ancient castle or hidden ruins near you?