Palace of Queluz

The Palace of Queluz (Portuguese: Palácio de Queluz, Portuguese pronunciation: [kɛˈluʃ]) is an 18th-century palace located at Queluz, a city of the Sintra Municipality, in the Lisbon District, on the Portuguese Riviera. One of the last great Rococo buildings to be designed in Europe, the palace was conceived as a summer retreat for King Joseph I's brother, Peter of Braganza, later to become husband and king jure uxoris (as King Peter III) to his own niece, Queen Maria I. It eventually served as a discreet place of incarceration for Maria I, when she became afflicted by severe mental illness in the years following Peter III's death in 1786.

Following the destruction of the Palace of Ajuda by fire in 1794, Queluz Palace became the official residence of the Portuguese Prince Regent John, and his family, and remained so until the royal family fled to the Portuguese colony of Brazil following the French invasion of Portugal (1807).

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

One wing of the palace, called the Queen Maria I Pavilion, built by Manuel Caetano de Sousa, is currently used as Portugal's official state guest house, allocated to foreign heads of state.

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

Palace of Queluz ranks #462 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #7 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 8,804 times in the last 60 days, more than 91% of the atlas. 23 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Lisbon, 11 km away. See how Portugal compares in the castle statistics.

View on the interactive castle map →

Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗