Surrounded by ancient castles, the fabulously beautiful residence of the Portuguese kings rises on the green hills of the Portuguese city of Sintra. The National Palace of Pena stands on the top of a cliff covered with forest, so it offers fantastic views of Lisbon and the vast expanses of the Atlantic Ocean. Moreover, it is one of the 20 most beautiful palaces in Europe, one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal, and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. How did the young Portuguese palace, whose history began less than two centuries ago, win acclaim?

Portuguese kings have long chosen the picturesque hills and fertile lands near the city of Sintra. When Portugal gained independence from the Kingdom of Aragon, a small chapel was built in honor of Our Lady of Pena on the highest hill. Later, the chapel was replaced with the Hieronymites monastery in the Manueline style popular in Portugal. Unfortunately, the descendants haven`t the good fortune of seeing the ancient monastery walls. First, it was struck by lightning, and then the earthquake of 1755 finally turned it into ruins.

The ruins remained abandoned for more than a hundred years until 1838 when King Ferdinand II came to these lands and decided to establish his summer residence here. Soon, a delightful royal park was laid out on the site of the ruins, and a couple of years later, grand construction began. Built in the middle of the 19th century, tall towers and arched vaults, minarets, and domes in the Moorish style with elements of Renaissance, Gothic, and Manueline remain almost untouched.

The magnificent romantic Palace of Pena appeared thanks to the famous German architect Baron Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege, who was fond of exoticism. Throughout its history, the original palace served as a summer royal residence, right up to the last queen, Amelie of Orleans. Today, the Palace of Pena is the National Museum, where you can see the original interiors of the last Portuguese royal family.