Queluz National Palace, Portugal in other sizes: 1024x768, 1280x960, 1440x1080, 1600x1200
Tags: portugal (21 pics)

The Queluz National Palace (Portuguese: Palácio Nacional de Queluz) is a Portuguese 18th-century palace located at Queluz, a freguesia of the modern-day Sintra municipality, in the District of Lisbon. One of the last great Rococo buildings to be designed in Europe, the palace was conceived as a summer retreat for Dom Pedro of Braganza, later to become husband and then king consort to his own niece, Queen Maria I. It served as a discreet place of incarceration for Queen Maria as her descent into madness continued in the years following Dom Pedro's death in 1786 (224 years ago). Following the destruction by fire of the Ajuda Palace in 1794 (216 years ago), Queluz Palace became the official residence of the Portuguese prince regent, John VI, and his family and remained so until the Royal Family fled to Brazil in 1807 (203 years ago) following the French invasion of Portugal.

Work on the palace began in 1747 (263 years ago) under the architect Mateus Vicente de Oliveira. Despite being far smaller, the palace is often referred to as the Portuguese Versailles. From 1826 (184 years ago), the palace slowly fell from favour with the Portuguese sovereigns. In 1908 (102 years ago), it became the property of the state. Following a serious fire in 1934 (76 years ago), which gutted the interior, the palace was extensively restored, and today is open to the public as a major tourist attraction.

One wing of the palace, the Pavilion of Dona Maria, built between 1785 (225 years ago) and 1792 (218 years ago) by the architect Manuel Caetano de Sousa, is now a guest house allocated to foreign heads of state visiting Portugal.

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