There is a Palace in the town of San IIdefonso

Author: nancygallen | Posted: 04.07.2012

There is a famous palace by the name of La Granja de San Ildefonso in the Spanish town of San Ildefonso. It is a royal palace that was constructed in the eighteenth century. This town is located at a distance of only 80 kilometers from Madrid towards Segovia. The beauty of this palace is that it is located on the hills. That is the same reason it was used as a summer residence by Spanish kings.

The palace of San Ildefonso is made in a baroque style of architecture. There are gardens surrounding this palace and there are fountains with sculptures in such gardens. Great aspect is that the Palace is now open for public exhibition. It is working as a museum that amuses most of its visitors. The whole area of the town is very refreshing, soothing and amazing in appearance as it’s blessed with natural beauty and it’s an excellent town to be visited.

The area of the mountains of Sierra de Guadarrama remained important for many Castilian kings in history. The reason is that it is excellent for hunting. The first lodge for this purpose in the area was built by Henry IV in the fifteenth century. There was also a shrine built in this area in the same era in order to honor Saint Ildefonso. For the same reasons this town still holds the same name.

With the passage of time there were significant developments in the area. It was Philip V that started raising the building of this castle in 1721. He followed the Versailles style of gardens for this palace as the same was liked by his grandfather Louis XIV who was of French origin. The main architect for the purpose of designing this palace was Teodoro Ardemans. A great aspect about this castle is that it remained an important official meeting place of the king in the times of Philip V.

The town of San Ildefonso grew for the same reasons as there were houses of nobles built near the castle. There was a Collegiate Church built in the town in the same era. The same church was made the burial place of Philip V after his death. Similarly military barracks were built in the town. A royal glass factory was also constructed in the town in the year 1728. The glassworks from this factory are still admired in Spain in this era.


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