Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-11-10
P ALACE IN MADRID
Most Magnificent Building
in Spain.
ROY AL APARTMENT rs
THOSE OCCUPIED BY THE KING
AND QUEEN MOTHER.
Rich in Furnishings and Equipments
Beautiful Han~ings in the Throne
Room-H Adreds Of Clocks.

| tory of all the royal residences or EUROPE,
| and is altogether the most imposing and
magnificent building in Spain. 1t covers an
| area of sc, 100 square feet each front being
491 feet long and from 80 to 165 feet high,
according to the slope Of the ground for 1t
stands upon the edge Of the steep hill upon
which Madrid is situated. It is In the form
of q quadrangle, with an interior court 14O
feet square, surrounded by open porticoes
and gallery on the main floor, supported
by thirty-six arches, which Is inclosed by
windows. In each corner Of this court Is
heroic figure of one of the four Roman en-
perors who were natives of Spain-Trajan,
Adrian, Honorius and Theodosius. The ma
terial of the building is a beautiful white
stone from the quarry Of Colmenar, which
| resembles marble.
The building contains four stories. The
exterior Of the lower one is plain, severe
and massive; above it is the entresol; then
comes the main floor, which is ornamented
by series of Doric and Ionic columns and
semi-attached pillars with balconies. The
fourth and upper story is low and pierced
by small. square windows. A wide corn1ce
runs about the top with a heavy stone
balustrade, which formerly supported the
series of statues of kings and queens, but
several years ago they were removed on
account Of their great weight, and now or
nament the plaza in front of the palace and
the driveways of the park called Dueno
Retro, in another part Of the city. The
roof is inhabited by numerous focks of
pigeons, thousands in number; the attic
stories by a dense and unknown population
of old soldiers and pensioners upon the
royal family. The main floor is given up
to the state apartments and the residence
of the king and his mother; the lower floor
to offices and business purposes and to the
apartments of the Princess of Asturias and
her sister. the Infanta Maria Theresa, and
their attendants. The entreSol Is occupied
by servants, attaches and clerks.
The Royal Apartments.
The Infanta Isabella aunt of the king,
widow of sixty years Of age or So and the
most popular person in Spain, formerly had
a large suite of apartments on the main
floor, but with her usual delicacy and
thoughtfulness she vacated them after the
recent coronation in order that they might
be ready for the queen mother in case the
king should marry Isabella now lives in q
private palace within few blocks of the
royal residence and Is daily visitor there.
The young king and his mother have large
suites on the1ront of the palace facing the
city, and the location of their bed rooms is
indicated by the invariable palm leaves at
tached to the balcony, according to the
Spanish custom. You will similar palm
leaves hanging to the balconies of nearly
all the residences in town, those of the poor
as we'll as the rich. A sheet of white paper
tied to the iron railing means that the room
is for rent, palm leaf means that 1t is the
sleeping chamber of a pious Catholic, who
brought 1t home from church on the last
Palm Sunday and placed 1t there to keep
away evil spirits, diseases and misfortunes.
1t remains there the entire year until the
next anniversary when new palm. fresh
from the blessing of the priest, is substi-
tuted.
The king has very comfortable quarters.
much more homelike than are usually found
In royal palaces. He has series of draw
ing rooms, a dining room larger than that
at the White House at Washington, libra
ry with about 5000 volumes upon the
shelves, mostly modern publications and
current literature in all the European Ian
guages; music room, a smoking room,
billiard room, gymnasium and study, which
is also used as an office. His sleeping
chamber is large and airy and contains two
beds, one of which is occupied by his pri-
vate secretary or one Of his tutors, or aids.
as they are termed since the coronation
Major Lorija, Major Casteljon or Count
Andino. He Is never allowed to sleep alone
and in an adjoining room sleeps Prudencio
his venerable valet, while two of his body
guards are always in the ante-room which
must be passed before his chamber is
reached.
Some of these rooms are occupied in com
mon with the queen mother but she has her
own suite of five or six rooms adjoining.
with access to the fiat roof of a long wing
which is occupied by the guards and the
intendente or superintendent of the palace.
This is arranged so that awnings may be
dropped in hot weather and is decorated
with palms and other plants and flowers 1t
also gives the king and the queen an op-
portunity for exercise, the roof being about
400 feet long and forty feet wide
The palace was begun in 1873 at the in
stance of Philip V, who visited Louis XIV
at Versailles and determined to have a
palace that would surpass that Of the
French king. The same site had been oc-
cupted since the tenth century by splen-
did structure said to have been a master
piece Of architecture. which was enlarged
and decorated by successive kings and
naments. all of which were consumed In a
fire which took place on Christmas night.
1874. and destroyed the entire building In
that palace were several galleries of Won
derful pictures of the greatest masters
which had been collected from time to time
by the Spanish kings, and among the Jewels
were a diamond of enormous size worth
100000 ducats, a pearl as big as a walnut
worth 10000 ducats and other Jewels of
similar value. The description in detail
occupies many pages in Davila's book called
THE Teatro de Las Grandezas de Madrid
Philip " who had exaggerated ideas of
his wealth and importance, sent to Italy for
Jubarra. the most famous architect Of his
time, who designed a palace LOO feet
square with thirty-four entrances, 1900 pill
lars, twenty-three courts, a theater, a
chapel, an art gallery, a dancing hall the
largest banquet room ever planned and
other apartments of similar splendor and
magnitude. The original drawings and a
model of this palace may be now seen in
one of the Madrid museums.
Building of the Palace.
Unfortunately or perhaps fortunately.
Jubarra died before the building was begun.