{"id":3857,"date":"2022-05-06T07:57:29","date_gmt":"2022-05-06T07:57:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/castelodesaojorge.pt\/castle\/national-monument\/the-royal-palace\/"},"modified":"2022-12-11T01:19:07","modified_gmt":"2022-12-11T01:19:07","slug":"the-royal-palace","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/castelodesaojorge.pt\/en\/castle\/national-monument\/the-royal-palace\/","title":{"rendered":"The Royal Palace"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u00a9Am\u00e9rico Simas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The partially-ruined Royal Palace is located in the middle of the monument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This royal residence consisted of a series of buildings from various periods, constructed around courtyards and connected by stairs and balconies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To the north, the palace was connected to the medieval castle and you can still see the beginnings of an arch on the Palace Tower. This would have been connected to the southwest corner of the castle, where there was also a  residential area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first reports we have of this palace date from the 13th century. In 1264 and 1277 the Palace was referred to as the Palace of Senhor Afonso, illustrious king of Portugal and the Algarves<\/em>. It is therefore believed that King Afonso III was the impetus behind its construction, or at the very least significant redevelopment. It is unknown what the palace architecture would have looked like at this time. The first depiction of the palace, as well as a more detailed description, dates from the 16th century (1512-1520), and reveals a dynamic building, with many later modifications undertaken by monarchs such as Ferdinand I, John I, Afonso V and Manuel I, who changed and added to the initial layout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The palace included the main hall, the royal chambers, St Michael\u2019s chapel, a kitchen with escan\u00e7aria (where wine was distributed) and storerooms (where furniture and silverware were kept).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main hall, with an area of around 480m\u00b2, was a rather large room compared to other royal palaces around Iberia and Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After King Manuel I\u2019s decision in 1505 to move the royal residence to the lower part of the city, and the final abandonment at the end of the 16th century, this building was gradually occupied by the military and adapted for other purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is precisely in what remains of this group of buildings that the Museum Centre was created. Here there is a collection of pieces from the archaeological excavations of the Pra\u00e7a Nova and from other constructions belonging to the monument, which at some point in history were part of citadel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n