National Palace of Pena

A sacred jewel of a thousand colours that crowns the mountains of Sintra

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Pena - The colourful palace

In Sintra, about 30 kilometres from Lisbon, is the Palácio Nacional da Pena, one of the country's best-known monuments, especially since it was declared a National Monument in 1910, and one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal in 2007 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.

In 2019, according to INE data, it was one of the most visited Monuments in the country, and it is easy to see why: the National Palace of Pena is "a sacred jewel that crowns the mountains of Sintra", as Sintra Park itself describes it, highlighting the colourful tones of the Palace, which is the highest representative of Romanticism in Portugal and "the eternal work of King Fernando II".

History of Pena Palace

The history of Pena Palace dates back to the 12th century, when King Manuel I built a monastery on the steep peak of the Serra de Sintra, where there was a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Pena. This monastery was to be called the Royal Monastery of Our Lady of Pena, under the Order of St. Jerome.

In 1755, following the Lisbon earthquake, the monastery was reduced to ruins, and a dark phase in its history began. Although it continued to function, despite its dilapidated state, the extinction of the religious orders in 1834 led to its abandonment. It was then that the "Patrons" of what would become the Pena Palace arrived: two years after the extinction of the Orders, Queen Maria II married Ferdinand II, considered "the perfect prince". A man of culture, polyglot and cultured, he fell in love with Sintra and, thanks to his fortune, acquired the building, whose restoration he planned. At the time, there was only the monastery of São Jerónimo on the site, but the building was not enough for King Fernando II, who decided to build a palace there. Baron Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege, a mineralogist and mining engineer then residing in Portugal, directed the construction of the palace, which was strongly influenced by elements of medieval imagery.

The National Palace of Pena is also one of the most historic places in the country. It was here that D. Amélia was surprised by the proclamation of the Republic on 5 October 1910, leading to her departure for Mafra, where she joined her mother-in-law, D. Maria Pia, and her son, D. Manuel, to travel to Ericeira and board the royal yacht D. Amélia, bound for Gibraltar.