Necessidades Palace

The Necessidades Palace (Portuguese: Palácio das Necessidades) is a historic building in the Largo do Rilvas, a public square in Lisbon, Portugal. It serves as headquarters of the Portuguese Foreign Ministry. The palace has been classified as a Property of Public Interest since 1983.

Formerly a convent belonging to the Congregation of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri, it was built in the 18th century, by order of King John V, in gratitude for prayers answered by Our Lady of Needs, whose first devotional chapel stood on this site.

The palace became the residence of the kings of the House of Braganza, beginning in the reign of Maria II, and all subsequent monarchs lived there, except for her son, Luís I, who preferred to use the Palace of Ajuda. Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, husband of Maria II, lived in this palace until his death, amassing a large collection of art, which would be dispersed after his death. The palace then underwent several renovations to accommodate the taste of the various monarchs who lived there, the most recent of which was carried out at the beginning of the twentieth century by Carlos I. He enlarged the state dining room because of the frequency of diplomatic activity undertaken there.

The palace was the scene of memorable events in Portuguese history, some momentous, some tragic, some slightly ridiculous. One famous example: King Peter V had installed in the front door of the palace a slot through which his subjects could, if they wished to, leave messages and complaints for the attention of the sovereign. The last significant event at the palace, which would also be the epilogue of the monarchy, was the joint funeral of King Carlos and his son, Prince Luís Filipe, on 1 February 1908, after their assassination by radical republicans.

During the 5 October 1910 revolution, the palace, because it was the official residence of the king, Manuel II, was shelled by the cruiser Adamastor, one of the ships stationed in the Tagus River. The salvoes caused some damage to the palace, and one of the bomblets even reached the king's private quarters on the first floor, but he had taken refuge elsewhere on the palace grounds.

Text adapted from “Necessidades Palace” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Necessidades Palace ranks #2,077 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #22 of the 200 mapped in Portugal. Founded 1750, it is older than 17% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 525 atlas entries founded in the 18th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 3,793 times in the last 60 days, more than 80% of the atlas. 21 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Lisbon, 3 km away. See how Portugal compares in the castle statistics.

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