The Royal Palace of Aranjuez () is one of the official residences of the Spanish royal family. It is located in the town of Aranjuez (Madrid), Spain. Established in the 16th century as a royal hunting lodge, the palace was built by order of Philip II. Under his reign it became one of four seasonal seats of the court along Rascafría, El Escorial and the Royal Alcázar of Madrid. The royal estate comprises a set of landscaped and ornate gardens and woodlands that house an extensive botanical collection.
Several international treaties<!--intentional link to DAB page--> were signed there and several members of the royal family died in the palace, including: Elisabeth of Valois in 1568, Barbara of Portugal in 1758, Elisabeth Farnese in 1766, Maria Antonia of Naples in 1806, Maria Isabel of Braganza in 1818 and Maria Josepha Amalia of Saxony in 1828.
In 1931, during the Second Spanish Republic, the royal estate was declared an Artistic Historical Monument and opened to the public. From 1977 to 1983, the palace served as a state guest house. The palace, gardens and associated buildings are part of the Aranjuez Cultural Landscape, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001. Currently it houses a museum on the ground floor, the royal rooms and gardens are open to the public and its management is entrusted to the public agency Patrimonio Nacional.
History
In the 12th century the Order of Santiago created an exclusive hunting reserve alongside the river Tagus near its junction with the river Jarama.
Its history as a royal site began in the 16th century, when the order's grandmaster Lorenzo I Suárez de Figueroa directed the construction of a grand hunting lodge designed for the recreation of members of the order and their royal and noble patrons, known as the Raso de Estrella (Star shaped Glade located between the present Royal Palace and Aranjuez railway station.) The site today is an open festival park.
In 1523 Charles I of Spain took possession of the area, which was designated Real Bosque y Casa de Aranjuez (Royal Woods and House of Aranjuez), in order to entertain his guests during the springtime hunting season.
In 1551, he established a botanical garden to catalog the newly catalogued species of plants brought from the Americas. Owing to distractions elsewhere, this mission was not entirely successful.
Philip II became aware of the fertile meadows of Aranjuez, and designated that a portion of land to the north of the river Tagus should be devoted to pottager and general agriculture in 1561.
In an adjacent plot to the south of the river, the King began construction of the first palace, on the same site as the existing building. Philip engaged the services of architect Juan Bautista de Toledo and later Juan de Herrera. They were also responsible for the palace and monastery of El Escorial.
The site also included exotic animals such as dromedaries ( in the period sources): about 10 in 1583 and about 40 in 1598.
After Philip's death in 1598, the works were still in progress with only the royal apartments, the chapel, the south tower and part of the western facade completed. An economic and political crisis, along with eventual extinction of the Spanish Hapsburg dynasty, resulted in the project being abandoned. Charles Stuart, Prince of Wales visited the palace in 1623 during his trip to Spain for the "Spanish Match".
In 1700, the first Bourbon king of Spain, Philip V, decided to resume the work, intending to make Aranjuez a rival to the grand palace of Versailles. Subsequently, this imposing style would be applied to the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso. Philip V added a new north tower, completed the west façade and defined the structure that would shape the current palace. The royal dromedaries were about 200, surviving even the occupation of the palace by the troops of Archduke Charles in 1710. They were not kept in a menagerie as in Versalles, but grazed around or were employed as beasts of burden. Bulls and exotic animals were also used in the royal pastimes, such as dumping them into the Ontígola reservoir to be shot by the royal musket.