page_title: Palace of Mafra
section_title: Later history
hierarchical_section_title: Palace of Mafra / History / Later history
caption_attribution_description: Português: Mosteiro de Mafra, em Portugal. Esta imagem foi publicada na Gazeta dos Caminhos de Ferro n.º 1169, de 1 de Setembro de 1936, e digitalizada pela Hemeroteca Municipal de Lisboa. English: Mafra Monastery, in Portugal. This image was published on the Gazeta dos Caminhos de Ferro magazine no. 1169, of the 1st September 1936, and scanned by the Hemeroteca Municipal de Lisboa.
context_page_description: The Palace of Mafra, also known as the Palace-Convent of Mafra and the Royal Building of Mafra, is a monumental Baroque and Neoclassical palace-monastery located in Mafra, Portugal, some 28 kilometres from Lisbon. Construction began in 1717 under King John V of Portugal and was completely concluded in 1755.
  The palace was classified as a National Monument in 1910 and was also a finalist in the Seven Wonders of Portugal. On 7 July 2019, the Royal Building of Mafra – Palace, Basilica, Convent, Cerco Garden and Hunting Park was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
context_section_description: The palace was not occupied permanently by the royalty, who considered the rooms too gloomy. Nonetheless, it was a popular destination for the members of the royal family who enjoyed hunting in the nearby game preserve, the Tapada Nacional de Mafra.  During the reign of King John VI the palace was inhabited for a whole year in 1807. The king was responsible for a partial renovation of the building by some well-known artists. However, with the French invasion of Portugal, in 1807, the royal family fled to Brazil, taking with them some of the best pieces of art and furniture in the building. Marshal Junot took up residence in the palace, to be driven out in turn by Wellington.
  In 1834, after the Liberal Wars, Queen Maria II ordered the dissolution of the religious orders and the convent was abandoned by the Franciscans. During the last reigns of the House of Braganza, the palace was mainly used as a base for hunting. In 1849 the monastery part of the building was assigned to the military, a situation still in use today.
  The last king of Portugal, Manuel II, following the proclamation of the republic, left on 5 October 1910 from the palace to the nearby coastal village of Ericeira on his way to exile. The palace was declared a national monument in 1907. At present, the building is conserved by the Portuguese Institute of the Architectonic Patrimony, which carried out several recovery programs, including the conservation of the main façade. A major restoration of the historical pipe organs began in 1998 with the collaboration of foreign experts and was finished in 2010. The restoration won the Europa Nostra 2012 award.
caption: Aerial photograph of the palace taken in 1936.
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