Created by Angel Cuartero for europeancitiespastandpresent.wikispaces.com

1. The Royal Palace Of Madrid Created by Ángel Cuartero Ropa

2. A Little Introductionaboutthe Palace The Royal Palace of Madrid is the official residence of the King of Spain. However, King Juan Carlos and the Royal Family do not reside in it. It is used for ceremonies of the State. The palace consists of 50,000 m2, with 870 windows, 240 balconies and 44 stairs. The Ambassadors' Staircase designed by Sabatini, has three parallel ramps 5 meters wide each. The palace is the largest in Western Europe, occupying an area of 135,000 m2.

3. Some Photos

4. A bit of History The Emir of Córdoba ordered to build an Alcazar in the IX century to defend him.After the Christian conquest, the Alcazar was reformed and extended, preserving the Arab origin of it. When Philip V was reigning, the ancient Alcazar of the Habsburgs was lost in the Eve of 1734 due to a fire.

5. When it was totally destroyed, the king wanted to do a new palace in the same place. The new palace was designed by the architects Filippo Juvarra and Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, and was builted with stones and bricks without wood, so any fire can't destroy it. For the interior decoration, they used spanish marbles, stuccos, mahogany wood for doors, windows and important works of art, etc. The works were carried out between 1738 and 1755, Charles III established his residence there in 1764.

6. A drawing of the Alcazar of the Hapsburgs at the beginning of the XVII century A drawing of the palace of the Hapsburgs at the end of the XVII century

7. Nowadays Now, the Palace is a touristic place and it can be visited. In the north of the Palace, there are the Sabatini Gardens. In the west side there is the Campo del Moro. In the east side there is the Plaza de Oriente and the Teatro Real. And in the south side there is a big square called Plaza de Armas and the Almudena Cathedral.

8. Sabatini Gardens Plaza de Oriente Campo del Moro Almudena Cathedral Royal Theatre Plaza de Armas

10. Sources Images: Google Information: http://europeancitiespastandpresent.wikispaces.com/The+Royal+Palace+of+Madrid Music: http://www.dilandau.com/descargar_musica/adiemus-1.html Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8UVpbzKfLI