العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
EspañolPENA NATIONAL PALACE
The 'Pena National Palace' constitutes one of the major expressions of 19th century Romanticism in Portugal. This National Monument was built by the initiative of D. Fernando of Saxe Coburg-Gotha, who married Queen Mary II, in 1836. Endowed with a complete education, the future King Fernando II quickly fell in love with Sintra and, when going up the Mountain range for the first time, sighted the ruins of the old 'Convent of Frades Hieronimitas', originally built by Diogo Boitac in the reign of King John II and substantially transformed by King Manuel I that, when fulfilling a promise, ordered it to be reconstructed, into rock, in praise of Our Lady of Pena, donating it again to the ''Ordem dos Monges de S. Jerónimo'' (a monks' order). 
When the earthquake of 1755 devastated Lisbon and the surrounding region, the convent of the Pena fell in ruins. But the Chapel, with magnificent retable in marble and alabaster attributed to Nicolau Chanterene, remained unbroken. These ruins, on top of the steep mountains of Sintra, had astonished the young prince D. Fernando. In 1838, he decided to acquire the old convent, all of the surrounding fences, the nearby ''Castelo dos Mouros'' (Castle of Moors) and some other ''quintas'' (villas).
Thus he began his romantic dream: to reconstruct the old convent and to annex a new part of it to complement the summer residence of the Portuguese Royal Family in Sintra. The commission for the Romantic style rebuilding was given to lieutenant-general and mining engineer Baron Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege. Almost the entire Palace stands on spectacular, enormous rocks.
Prince Fernando also thought about creating an English style park, with the most varied, exotic and rich species of trees. By doing this, the Park and Pena Palace appear as if from a book of enchanted princes and princesses. The extravagant style of the Palace reminds the visitor of the romantic castle Neuschwanstein built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria (built 30 years later than the Pena National Palace). This imitation and combination of different styles was not always successful and often leads to strange contrasts, such as a window in Manueline style next to a door in Moorish style.
The Palace, itself, has a profusion of styles and the volume movement has an unusual architecture. The mixture of eclectic styles that exhibits (neo-Gothic, neo-Manueline, neo-Islamic, neo-Renaissance, among other styles) and the references to prominent Portuguese buildings (such as the Belém Tower) are all intentional (in the 19th century people used to like the exotic and romantic).
The set of the diverse sentry boxes, of the most varied forms and shapes, the uneven terraces covered with tiles in neo-Hispanic-Arabic style, are remarkable elements. The notable figure of the Triton symbolizes, according to some authors, the Creation of the World.
The interiors of the Pena Palace were adapted to serve as the Summer residence of the royal family. It has amazing stuccos, painted walls in ''trompe-l'oeil'' and various revetments in tile from the 19th century, forming part of the numerous royal collections.
Today, the Pena Palace is open to the general public and is part of the World Heritage Site called the 'Cultural Landscape of Sintra'.
★ Monuments of Portugal
★ History of Portugal
★ Timeline of Portuguese history
★ List of Portuguese monarchs
★ Information from IPPAR - Instituto Português do Património Arquitectónico ''(in Portuguese)''
View of the Pena National Palace
| Contents |
| From the ruins, a palace from the fables |
| The interior of the palace |
| The palace today |
| See also |
| References |
From the ruins, a palace from the fables
When the earthquake of 1755 devastated Lisbon and the surrounding region, the convent of the Pena fell in ruins. But the Chapel, with magnificent retable in marble and alabaster attributed to Nicolau Chanterene, remained unbroken. These ruins, on top of the steep mountains of Sintra, had astonished the young prince D. Fernando. In 1838, he decided to acquire the old convent, all of the surrounding fences, the nearby ''Castelo dos Mouros'' (Castle of Moors) and some other ''quintas'' (villas).
A view of the Pena National Palace from the arch at the Seteais Palace below.
Thus he began his romantic dream: to reconstruct the old convent and to annex a new part of it to complement the summer residence of the Portuguese Royal Family in Sintra. The commission for the Romantic style rebuilding was given to lieutenant-general and mining engineer Baron Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege. Almost the entire Palace stands on spectacular, enormous rocks.
Prince Fernando also thought about creating an English style park, with the most varied, exotic and rich species of trees. By doing this, the Park and Pena Palace appear as if from a book of enchanted princes and princesses. The extravagant style of the Palace reminds the visitor of the romantic castle Neuschwanstein built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria (built 30 years later than the Pena National Palace). This imitation and combination of different styles was not always successful and often leads to strange contrasts, such as a window in Manueline style next to a door in Moorish style.
The Palace, itself, has a profusion of styles and the volume movement has an unusual architecture. The mixture of eclectic styles that exhibits (neo-Gothic, neo-Manueline, neo-Islamic, neo-Renaissance, among other styles) and the references to prominent Portuguese buildings (such as the Belém Tower) are all intentional (in the 19th century people used to like the exotic and romantic).
The set of the diverse sentry boxes, of the most varied forms and shapes, the uneven terraces covered with tiles in neo-Hispanic-Arabic style, are remarkable elements. The notable figure of the Triton symbolizes, according to some authors, the Creation of the World.
The interior of the palace
Royal dining room
The interiors of the Pena Palace were adapted to serve as the Summer residence of the royal family. It has amazing stuccos, painted walls in ''trompe-l'oeil'' and various revetments in tile from the 19th century, forming part of the numerous royal collections.
The palace today
Today, the Pena Palace is open to the general public and is part of the World Heritage Site called the 'Cultural Landscape of Sintra'.
See also
★ Monuments of Portugal
★ History of Portugal
★ Timeline of Portuguese history
★ List of Portuguese monarchs
References
★ Information from IPPAR - Instituto Português do Património Arquitectónico ''(in Portuguese)''
This article provided by Wikipedia. To edit the contents of this article, click here for original source.
psst.. try this: add to faves
Featured Companies
| Vacation By V |
Newest Companies
Pena National Palace Travel Deals
