Where Gumbo Was #252
It’s almost impossible to visit Lisbon without feeling the draw of Sintra, less than an hour away, and proud to say it’s ‘on the edge of Europe.’
The town itself is worth a view, its mountainside parks are lovely…but a big part of the pull is the two fabled National Palaces, one in the heart of town, and the other, the Pena Palace, high above it on a mountaintop. The palaces were the answer to this week’s puzzle, and even the careful mix of daily clues—one from each palace—didn’t stop George G and from identifying it, along with Professor Abe, Port Moresby and Jonathan L. Twitter follower Flights of Fancy also got Sintra, but not that both palaces were in the frame. Congrats to all!
The National Palace of Sintra is the older, by a considerable bit. The earliest parts were built during Moorish rule of the area, in the 10th century, along with the fortified Moorish Castle halfway up the mountain. Both became property of Portugal’s first Christian King in 1147, when he conquered Lisbon and elevated his status from Duke to King.
The Swan Room’s ceiling (above) shows the room’s theme; another room is full of magpies, allegedly to shame court gossips.
Over the next five centuries, it was renovated, extended, decorated, re-renovated, re-extended and re-decorated, and while many of the styles of the Moors and early Christian kings still influence the building, none of the structure today is from before the 13th century, when King Dinis built the Royal Chapel.
After the 16th century, other than paintings and furnishings, not much more was done to the building itself, and court life shifted to Lisbon.
The palace’s iconic chimneys, seen from outside and in, serve a huge kitchen with roasting and cooking provisions for large feasts.
But in the 19th century, with the opening of the railroad, Sintra became less remote, and turned into a fashionable summer retreat for the royal and wealthy, who built many fine houses and ‘chalets’ on the mountain. The Palace itself got a freshening up for its royal residents and visitors.
But not, apparently, enough for the taste of Ferdinand II, who had his eye on the mountain rather than the town. Starting in 1838, he bought the earthquake-damaged ruins of a monastery on top of Sintra’s mountain, the Moorish Castle below it, and a number of other estates in the area. Like King Ludwig of Bavaria, he understood real estate!
His aim was to turn the former monastery into a summer residence for his family. If the result as we see it bears some resemblance to German fortified castles and romantic views along the Rhine, you can credit that to Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege, a German mining engineer and amateur architect who was hired for the job; he was an admirer of the Rhine castles.
Ferdinand and Queen Maria spent considerable time supervising the decoration of the palace; it was perhaps a good investment of his time; because of a twist in Portuguese royal law, his time as king was cut short and it became his retirement home.
Maria was queen by right; her father had been king. Her consort only became king on birth of their first heir. And when she died, at age 35, after giving birth to their eleventh heir, their son Pedro V because king, and Ferdinand served as Regent until Pedro turned 18.
Ferdinand’s artistic interests (and perhaps a raffish turn) are reflected in bedroom decor and domestic details, such as the stair railings)
Innovations showed up in Pena, too. Above, one of the early versions of a built-in shower, and a glass chandelier that was built for electricity, not gas. Pena’s kitchen is also far different from that of the old palace.
Ferdinand remarried and lived out his life at Pena. A skilled artist, etcher and potter in his own right, he surrounded himself with artists, and was friends with many of the best-known artists of the time. His second wife Elise Hensler, born in Switzerland, raised in Boston and a well-known opera singer, was also an artist, with a bent for sculpture, ceramics, painting and gardening.
Of course, not everything got the modern touch. The chapel, top, was built out from the original monastery, with new stained-glass from Germany. And the hallway below…despite appearances, it’s flat walls painted to fool the eye.
She was also a commoner—until Ferdinand’s cousin (Victoria was also his cousin) , the Duke of Saxe-Coburg, Germany, made her the Countess of Edla. On his death, she inherited the Pena Palace. The new king wanted the palace, and bought the estate from her; a few years later the royal family sold it to the Portuguese state.
Quirky furnishings mark the ‘smoking room’ which originally had a billiard table along with a set of these lampholders. On our first visit, lower picture, the room was under renovation.
With the end of the monarchy in 1910, it was opened to the public as a national monument and museum. In 1995, the palace, along with the National Palace, Moorish Castle and the ‘Cultural Landscape of Sintra’ were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
