Spain Trip #28: Granada: Famous Alhambra Palace Part 1: History

L to R: Tom, Doug, Scott, and Dan

The most famous structure in Granada, Spain is the Alhambra Palace. This is part 1 of our tour of Alhambra Palace and in this blog, we'll begin taking you through! In order to understand it's significance, you need to know what it is and what happened to it throughout history, so we'll tell you and show you. In addition, we ran into some ghosts (which we'll highlight in an upcoming blog). 

HOW DID THE PALACE COME ABOUT IN GRANADA? Before reaching Spain, the Moors had seen and occupied Roman villas. Muhammad I (1230-72) made the Alhambra his palace and much of the work was done in the reigns of Yusuf I (1333-54) and Muhammad V (1354-91). The overall plan of the plateau resembles that of Hadrian's Villa. 

A gated entry into the Alhambra Palace complex

FUN FACT:  In Arabic, Alhambra means Red Castle.

WHEN WAS THE ALHAMBRA PALACE CONSTRUCTED? - Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. In 889 AD it was built as a small fortress. It was built on the remains of ancient Roman fortifications.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PALACE OVER TIME?
1200s -  The palace then fell into disrepair and was ignored until its ruins were renovated and rebuilt in the mid-13th century by the Nasrid emir Mohammed ben Al-Ahmar of the Emirate of Granada, who built its current palace and walls.

1333 - It was converted into a royal palace by Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada

1492 - After the conclusion of the Christian Reconquista the site became the Royal Court of Ferdinand and Isabella (where Christopher Columbus received royal endorsement for his expedition), and the palaces were partially altered in the Renaissance style.

Inside the palace: the fountain of lions

1526 - Charles I and V commissioned a new Renaissance palace better befitting the Holy Roman Emperor in the revolutionary Mannerist style influenced by Humanist philosophy in direct juxtaposition with the Nasrid Andalusian architecture, but it was ultimately never completed due to Morisco rebellions in Granada.

THEN ABANDONED!  The palace and grounds sat empty for a couple of hundred years and were inhabited by the homeless. 

FUN FACT  FOUNTAIN OF THE LIONS - The Lion Fountain, from which the brilliant Court of the Lions takes its name, dates from the eleventh century.

View of Granada from Alhambra Palace

1815- Alhambra was rediscovered following the defeat of Napoleon, who had conducted retaliatory destruction of the site. The rediscoverers were first British intellectuals and then other north European Romantic travelers.

NEXT: Alhambra Palace Part 2: Architecture