Aljafería facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Aljafería |
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| General information | |
| Location | Zaragoza, Spain |
| Coordinates | 41°39′23″N 0°53′48″W / 41.656472°N 0.89675°W |
| Current tenants | Cortes of Aragon |
| Official name: Mudéjar remains of the Palace of Aljafería | |
| Type: | Cultural |
| Criteria: | iv |
| Designated: | 2001 (25th session) |
| Part of: | Mudéjar Architecture of Aragon |
| Reference #: | 378-008 |
| Region: | Europe and North America |
| Official name: Palacio de la Aljafería | |
| Type: | Non-movable |
| Criteria: | Monument |
| Designated: | 3 June 1931 |
| Reference #: | RI-51-0001033 |
The Aljafería Palace (Spanish: Palacio de la Aljafería) is a strong, old palace built in the 11th century. It is located in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. This palace was once the home of the Banu Hud family, who were rulers of the Taifa of Zaragoza, a Muslim kingdom in Al-Andalus (parts of Spain ruled by Muslims).
The Aljafería Palace shows how grand and rich the Taifa of Zaragoza was. Today, it is home to the Cortes of Aragon, which is the regional parliament (like a local government) of Aragon.
This palace is a rare and important example of Islamic architecture from the time of the taifas (small independent kingdoms). The Aljafería, along with the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba and the Alhambra, are considered the best examples of Hispano-Muslim architecture. In 2001, parts of the Aljafería were added to the Mudéjar Architecture of Aragon World Heritage Site. This means it's a special place protected by UNESCO.
The palace's decorations, like its unique arches and detailed patterns, influenced later art styles in Spain. After Alfonso I of Aragón took Zaragoza in 1118, the Aljafería became a home for Christian kings. It was later changed into a military fort in 1593. The palace has been repaired many times, especially after damage during wars. It was fully restored in the 20th century.
The palace was originally built outside the city walls of Zaragoza. But as the city grew, the Aljafería is now inside the city.
Contents
What is the Troubadour Tower?
The oldest part of the Aljafería Palace is called the Troubadour Tower. It got this name from a play written in 1836 by Antonio Garcia Gutierrez called The Troubadour. This play was later turned into a famous opera by Giuseppe Verdi called Il trovatore.
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The tower is a strong, defensive building with a square base and five levels. It was built around the end of the 9th century. Its lower part is made of heavy alabaster stones, while the upper parts use lighter materials. The outside of the tower looks like a huge block with only narrow openings for defense. To get inside, people used a small, high door that needed a portable ladder. Its first job was to be a military watchtower.
The first floor still has its original 9th-century design. It has two separate sections with six parts, divided by pillars and horseshoe arches. This simple space might have been used as baths. The second floor looks similar and has parts from the 11th-century Muslim builders.
Later, in the 14th century, the top two floors were added in a Mudéjar style. These were built when Peter IV of Aragon made changes to the palace. The arches on these floors are slightly pointed, showing Christian design.
The Troubadour Tower was used as a watchtower and a strong defense point. It was surrounded by a moat (a ditch filled with water). When the Banu Hud family built the Aljafería Palace, the tower became part of its outer defense wall. During the Reconquista (when Christian kingdoms took back Spain), it was still used as a fort. In 1486, it became a prison for the Spanish Inquisition, a religious court. It was also used as a prison in the 18th and 19th centuries. You can still see drawings made by prisoners on its walls.
The Beautiful Muslim Palace
The main part of the palace was built between 1065 and 1081. It was ordered by Al-Muqtadir, a powerful ruler of the Banu Hud family. He wanted it to show how strong and important his kingdom, the Taifa of Zaragoza, had become. The ruler himself called his palace "Qasr al-Surur" (Palace of Joy). He called his throne room "Maylis al-Dahab" (Golden Hall). He even wrote poems about it:
Oh Palace of Joy!, Oh Golden Hall!
Because of you, I reached the maximum of my wishes.
And even though in my kingdom I had nothing else,
for me you are everything I could wish for.
The name Aljafería comes from Al-Muqtadir's first name, Abu Ya'far. Over time, "Al-Yafariyya" changed to "Aliafaria" and then to "Aljafería". The palace's design is similar to old desert castles in places like Syria and Jordan. These castles were often square with towers and a central area with courtyards and pools.
The Aljafería follows this style. The main royal buildings are in the middle, around a courtyard with pools. The royal rooms and halls were at the north and south ends. The north end was more important. It had a second floor and a grand entrance with many columns. This entrance led to the throne room, the "Golden Hall." This design made the royal area look very impressive. There was also a small private mosque with a mihrab (a niche showing the direction of Mecca) on the eastern side.
In the Golden Hall, there was a special arch where the king would stand. It had patterns like the famous Mosque of Córdoba. This made the king look even more magnificent to those in the courtyard.
In the 11th century, all the plant, geometric, and writing patterns were painted in bright colors, mostly red and blue, with gold details. The floors were made of white marble. This made the palace look very grand.
Over time, many of the original decorations were lost or covered. When the Catholic Monarchs built their palace in 1492, they added a second floor, which changed some of the old arches. Today, during restorations, the original patterns are darker than the new, white plaster parts.
Many of the original wall decorations from the Golden Hall are now in museums. Experts have worked to restore the palace to how it looked originally.
North Side Halls: Royal Areas
Along the north wall are the most important buildings from the Banu Hud period. These include the Throne Room (Golden Hall) and a small private mosque. The mosque is on the east side of the entrance area. Inside, it has a mihrab pointing towards Mecca.
The floors of the royal rooms were made of marble with alabaster borders. The tops of the columns were also alabaster. These rooms had special writings on their walls, called Kufic characters. These writings were verses from the Quran and explained the meaning of the palace's decorations. Some of these writings mention Ahmad al-Muqtadir, which helps us know the palace was built between 1065 and 1080.
The Golden Hall
The Golden Hall had two private bedrooms at its east and west ends. The western bedroom is now gone, but it was used by the Aragonese kings until the 14th century. Most of the original plaster decorations, alabaster bases, and marble floors are also gone. However, the remaining pieces in museums and the hall itself help us imagine its rich, colorful look.
The ceilings and wood carvings in the Golden Hall were designed to look like the sky. The whole room was meant to be a picture of the universe. This showed the king's power over everything, making him seem like a great ruler.
You enter the Golden Hall through a wall with three openings. The large central opening has five double marble columns supporting four unique arches.
Entrance to the Golden Hall
To the south, there's another similar area connected to the courtyard by a portico (a covered walkway) with many-lobed arches. This area also has three parts. The east and west ends have two side galleries with wide, many-sided arches. These arches have detailed patterns and carvings.
All the plaster decorations in the palace were painted in blue, red, and gold. Among the detailed patterns, you can see a bird. This is unusual in Islamic art and might represent a pigeon, a pheasant, or even the king himself. The special interlocking arches found here were first used in the Aljafería and then spread to other Islamic buildings.
Mosque and Oratory
At the eastern end of the Golden Hall's entrance is a small mosque or private prayer room. The king and his close friends would have used it. You enter through a door with a horseshoe arch, similar to the one in the Mosque of Córdoba. This arch rests on two columns with unique leaf designs. The area around the arch is covered in detailed plant patterns.
The inside of the prayer room is a small square space with cut corners, making it look like an octagon. In the southeast corner, facing Mecca, is the mihrab niche. The mihrab has a traditional horseshoe arch with alternating decorated and smooth blocks. This arch also reminds us of the Mosque of Córdoba. While Córdoba used expensive mosaics, the Aljafería used plaster and paint, which are mostly gone now.
The other walls of the mosque are decorated with linked arches that have plant patterns. These arches rest on thin columns. Marble slabs cover the lower parts of the walls.
Above these arches are interlocking blocks. Some of these blocks show the corners of the square room. This area is the only one that still has traces of the original 11th-century paint.
The mosque's dome is no longer there because the Catholic Monarchs built their palace on top of it. However, its octagonal shape suggests it might have looked like the domes in the Mosque of Córdoba, with interlaced arches forming an eight-pointed star.
South Side Halls
The south portico has an arched walkway that leads to a covered area with two side rooms. This portico was the entrance to a large south hall. This hall would have looked similar to the north side. Only the entrance arches with their geometric decorations remain. This area has some of the most detailed arches. Their complex patterns look very rich and are an early example of the intricate art found in the Alhambra.
The Courtyard of Santa Isabel
The Courtyard of Santa Isabel is an open, garden area that connected the different parts of the Muslim palace. The north and south porticos faced this courtyard. There were likely other rooms and buildings on the east and west sides.
The courtyard is named after Princess Elizabeth of Aragon, who was born in the Aljafería in 1282 and later became Queen of Portugal. The original pool on the south side is still there. The one on the north side was covered with wood in the 14th century. During its restoration, the courtyard was given a marble floor around the garden area.
The arches you see looking towards the south portico were rebuilt using molds of the original arches found in museums. Experts believe that the arches closer to the important areas (like the Golden Hall and Mosque) followed the style of Córdoba more closely. Like the rest of the palace, the courtyard was rebuilt in the 20th century based on what archaeologists found.
Palace of Peter IV of Aragon
After Alfonso the Battler took Zaragoza in 1118, the Aljafería became a palace for the kings of Aragon. It wasn't changed much until the 14th century, when Peter IV of Aragon made improvements.
King Peter IV added more palace buildings in 1336. He also built the Chapel of San Martín in the entrance courtyard. At this time, the Aljafería was known as the starting point for the route to the Cathedral of the Savior of Zaragoza. This is where Aragonese kings were crowned and made their promises.
Chapel of San Martín
The Chapel of San Martín uses parts of the old northwest wall. One of its towers was even used as a sacristy (a room for church items). The chapel is built in a Gothic-Mudéjar style. It has two sections, each with three parts, facing east. The arches are pointed, and the ceilings have simple rib vaults. In the corners of the vaults, there are small flowers with the coat of arms of the Aragonese kings. Some parts of the original painted decorations and arches, inspired by the Muslim palace, are still there.
The brick Mudéjar entrance, built during the time of Martin of Aragon, is a highlight. This entrance has a special arch inside a larger pointed arch. Around both arches, there's a double border with a checkered pattern.
Above the arches, there are two round medallions with the symbols of the King of Aragon. In the space between the arches, there's a band of linked arches, similar to those in the old Muslim palace.
The chapel was changed in the 18th century, but these changes were removed during later restorations.
Mudéjar Palace
The Mudéjar Palace isn't a separate palace. It's an expansion of the old Muslim palace that was still being used. Peter IV of Aragon wanted bigger rooms, dining areas, and bedrooms for the Aljafería, as the old Muslim bedrooms were too small for him.
These new rooms are located in the northern part of the old palace, on different levels. This new Mudéjar structure respected the older building's design. It has three large rectangular halls with beautiful wooden Mudéjar ceilings.
From this time, you can also see the western arches of the Courtyard of Santa Isabel. There's also a small, square bedroom with an octagonal wooden dome and a unique entrance door. This door leads to a triple arched gallery. The bedroom is located above the mosque.
Palace of the Catholic Monarchs
In the late 15th century, the Catholic Monarchs (King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile) ordered a new royal palace to be built. It was placed on top of the northern wing of the old Muslim palace. This meant the upper parts of the old Muslim rooms were removed to support the new palace.
The construction lasted from 1488 to 1495. It was built by Mudéjar masters, who continued the traditional building styles of the Aljafería.
You enter the palace by climbing a grand staircase. This staircase has two large sections with geometric plaster decorations. It is lit by windows with small leaf and stem designs. The ceiling is covered with cross-vaulted arches. It is decorated with paintings of symbols related to the Catholic Monarchs: the yoke and arrows.
The stairs lead to a corridor on the first floor that connects to the main palace buildings. To support these new structures, parts of the 11th-century Muslim halls had to be cut. Five large octagonal pillars were built in front of the north portico. These pillars, along with some pointed arches, form a new entrance area that connects the two old Muslim pavilions.
The main entrance to the Throne Room is a special arch. In its center is the coat of arms of the Catholic Monarchs, showing the symbols of the kingdoms of Castile, León, Aragon, Sicily, and Granada. Two lion statues support this shield. The rest of the entrance is decorated with delicate plant patterns. The entire entrance is made of hardened plaster, a common material used by Mudéjar craftspeople. On the same wall as the entrance, there are two large windows with triple arches.
Across from the gallery are three small, square rooms. These rooms lead to the great Throne Room and are called "rooms of the lost steps." They have large windows overlooking the Courtyard of San Martín. They would have been waiting rooms for people who wanted to meet the kings.
Today, only two of these rooms can be accessed. One of the most valuable parts of these rooms are their floors. They originally had square tiles with colorful hexagonal ceramic pieces. These were made in the famous pottery of Loza de Muel in the late 15th century. Preserved pieces were used to restore the entire floor.
Also impressive are the ceilings, made by Aragonese Mudéjar carpenters. These ceilings have geometric patterns of carved wood, painted and gilded with gold leaf. They show the symbols of the Catholic Monarchs: the yoke, the arrows, and the Gordian knot. They also have many small leaf patterns and hanging pineapples, which symbolize good luck.
The Throne Room
The ceiling of the Throne Room is very detailed. It is about 20 meters long and 8 meters wide. Its beautiful wooden ceiling is supported by thick beams decorated with a lace pattern that forms eight-pointed stars. These patterns create thirty large, deep square sections. Inside these sections are octagons with a central curly leafed flower, ending in large hanging pine cones. These pine cones symbolize new life and lasting power. The floor of the room also has a pattern of thirty squares with octagons, mirroring the ceiling.
Below the ceiling, there is a gallery of arches with open windows. From here, guests could watch the royal ceremonies. The entire structure rests on a base with carvings of plants and animals, including dragons. Around the whole room, there is a frieze (a decorative band) with Gothic writing that says:
Ferdinand, King of Spain, Sicily, Corsica and the Balearic Islands, the best of princes, wise, brave, religious, steady, fair, joyful, and Isabella, queen, greater than all women because of her kindness and great spirit, distinguished spouses, very victorious with the help of Christ, after freeing Andalusia from the Moors, drove out the old and fierce enemy, ordered to build this work in the year of Salvation 1492.
Later History of the Palace
In 1486, the area around the Courtyard of San Martín became the headquarters for the Spanish Inquisition. This is probably when the Troubadour Tower was first used as a prison.
In 1591, during a time of conflict called the Alterations of Aragon, a secretary to King Philip II, Antonio Pérez, sought protection in Aragon. However, the Inquisition had power over all laws, so he was held in a cell at the Aljafería. This led to a public uprising, and the Aljafería was attacked to free him. The king's army stopped the revolt. After this, Philip II decided to make the Aljafería an even stronger fort to prevent future rebellions.
An Italian military engineer named Tiburzio Spannocchi designed the new military parts. He added rooms to the south and east walls, hiding the old towers. A new wall was built around the entire palace, with five-sided defense points (bastions) at its corners. The whole area was surrounded by a 20-meter-wide moat with two drawbridges.
No major changes happened until 1705. Then, in 1772, Charles III of Spain ordered the palace to be completely changed into military barracks. All the walls were updated, and the inside was used for soldiers and officers. A large parade ground was created in the western part of the palace, surrounded by rooms for different military groups. These changes were simple and practical. In 1862, Queen Isabella II added four Gothic-style towers, two of which are still standing today.
In 1845, a report warned that the old Muslim and Mudéjar parts of the palace were falling apart. Queen Isabella II of Spain gave money for restoration, and work began in 1848. However, in 1862, the Aljafería became property of the Ministry of War, which stopped the restoration and caused more damage.
The palace continued to get worse until 1947, when architect Francisco Íñiguez Almech started a major restoration. In the 1960s, it was still used as military barracks, and its decorations were covered with plaster for protection.
In 1984, a group decided that the Aljafería Palace should be the permanent home for the Cortes of Aragon (the regional parliament). The city of Zaragoza, which owned the building, agreed to let the parliament use a part of it for 99 years. This section was adapted, and the building was restored again. In 1998, the Aljafería was declared an artistic and historical monument.
Gallery
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The exterior facade of the Aljafería was rebuilt in the 20th century.
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In 1593 Philip II of Spain built a citadel around the Aljafería, as seen in this 16th-century drawing.
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The Aljafería in 1848
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Interior of the Aljafería in 1879
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Interior of the Aljafería in 1889
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Interior of the mosque in 1891
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Ceiling of the Grand Hall of the Palace of the Catholic Monarchs in 1890
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The moat added during the reign of Philip II
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Gothic window built by the Catholic Monarchs in 1512
See also
In Spanish: Palacio de la Aljafería para niños
