Buckingham Palace, the beginnings of which were first built in 1703 as a townhouse for the Duke of Buckingham, became the palace of the British monarch in 1837 with Queen Victoria’s accession to the throne. Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert renovated the palace, added new wings and hosted balls and concerts there. After […]
The Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah lives outside the capital Badar Seri Begawan in a sprawling palace by the Brunei River. At 2,152,782 square feet, the Istana Nurul Iman or Palace of Light and Faith is the largest residential palace in the world. There are 1,788 rooms, 257 bathrooms, 5 swimming pools, and a mosque […]
Designed in the spirit of European Romanticism, the Pena National Palace in Sintra Portugal is a palace that mixes Gothic revival, Neo-Manueline, Islamic and Neo-Renaissance styles. Its origins lie in a medieval chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Pena, where King John II and his wife made a pilgrimage. A monastery was also constructed in […]
Calat Alhambra or “The Red Fortress” is a Moorish palace on top of a hill overlooking Granada, Spain. As a palace-city built by the last Emirs of the Nasrid dynasty in the 14th century, it had its own irrigation system and mosques within the fortress walls. After the Catholic Reconquest of Spain, Charles V commissioned […]
The official residence of the Ottoman Sultans in Turkey from 1465 to 1856, the Topkapi Palace, which was built by the conqueror of Constantinople Mehmed the II, is a shining example of the Ottoman Empire. The palace complex, consisting of four courtyards and various low buildings, housed as many as 4,000 people, including the sultan, […]
The Palacio Real de Madrid or Palacio de Oriente is the largest royal palace in Western Europe at 135,000 square meters with 2,800 rooms. It is the official residence of the king of Spain, though King Juan Carlos and his family actually live in another palace and use the Palace of Madrid for State Ceremonies. […]
The largest palace complex in the world is the Forbidden City in Beijing China, which served as the imperial palace and home of the emperors from the Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. The name “Forbidden City” is a translation of the Chinese name Zijincheng – “Purple Forbidden City,” which combines the celestial significance of […]
From 1732 to 1917, the Winter Palace was a home for the Russian Tsars. Architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli designed the elaborate palace in the Baroque and Rocco style for Grand Duchess Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great, as a symbol of the might of imperial Russia. During her reign, Catherine the Great expanded the Winter […]
This palace in the city of Mysore, India is the home of the royal family of the Wodeyars, who ruled the Kingdom of Mysore from 1399 until 1947. Though the original palace was built in the 14th century, Mysore lost importance in 1610, when the Raja Wodeyar moved his capital to Sriranagapattana. The palace was […]
The 13-story, 117-meter high Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet is a wonder of Tibetan architecture high in the mountains. King Songsten Gampo first built the palace on the hill representing the bodhisattva Chenresig in 637 AD. In 1645 the fifth Dalai Lama began construction on the Potrang Karpo (White Palace) of the Potala Palace, which […]
