Royal Palace of Olite

About

The Palace of the Kings of Navarre of Olite or Royal Palace of Olite is a castle-palace in the town of Olite, in Navarre, Spain. It was one of the seats of the Court of the Kingdom of Navarre, since the reign of Charles III "the Noble" until its conquest by Castile (1512).

Surely there is no king with a more beautiful castle or palace and with so many gilded rooms (...) it could not say or even could imagine how magnificent and sumptuous is this palace (...) This monument was quite damaged (except the church) in 1813 by a fire caused by general Espoz y Mina during the Napoleonic French Invasion to prevent its occupation by French troops. It was largely restored from 1937 in works that lasted for 30 years giving it back its original appearance. Nevertheless, miscellaneous architectural decoration of its interior, and the outside gardens, were lost.

The fortification is both castle and palace, although it was built more like a courtier building to fulfil a military function. Since the 13th century the Castle of Olite has been called the Palace of the King of Navarre.

On an ancient Roman fortification was built during the reign of Sancho VII of Navarre "the Strong" (13th century) and extended by his successors Theobald I and Theobald II, the latter was installed in the palace in 1269 and there he signed the consent letter for the wedding of Blanche of Artois with his brother Henry I of Navarre, who in turn, as king after 1271 used the palace as a temporary residence. This ancient area is known as the Old Palace.

At this time the Navarrese court was traveling, so the palace could not be considered as the royal seat during that time, as the castle was occupied intermittently by kings according to their preferences. So it had the presence of King Charles II of Navarre in 1380, 1381 and 1384.

Then the palace was housing the Navarrese court from the 14th until 16th centuries, Since the annexation (integration) of the Kingdom of Navarre into the Crown of Castile in 1512 began the decline of the castle and therefore its practically neglect and deterioration. At that time it was an official residence for the Viceroys of Navarre.

In 1813 Navarrese guerrilla fighter Espoz y Mina during the Napoleonic French Invasion burned the palace with the aim to French could not make forts in it, which almost brought in ruin. It is since 1937 when architects José and Javier Yarnoz Larrosa began the rehabilitation (except the non-damaged church) for the castle palace, giving it back its original appearance and see today. The restoration work was completed in 1967 and was paid by the Foral Government of Navarre.

The Palace of the Kings of Navarre of Olite (castle palace of Olite) consists of three cores: the Old Palace, the New Palace and the church iglesia de Santa María la Real.

The Old Palace, built in the 13th century in gothic style, is structured around a rectangular courtyard around which all dependencies luenga. On the ground floor there were the stores and the chapel of St George, built before 1357. Also on the ground floor stood the royal court's Great Hall, the main gate to which is on the main façade. The Great Hall was topped by three towers. Today only two remain: the central one, above the main door, was removed in 1414. On the upper floor several chambers existed, including the "Cambra luenga" (Long chamber) and the adjacent "Cambra de doña Juana" (chamber of doña Juana).

With the development of the New Palace in the 14th century, the royal court moved out the Old Palace. Parts of the Old Palace were thereafter used as stables, kitchens, and other secondary dependencies. In 1584 the Marquis of Almazán restored the main façade of Old Palace, placing the coat of arms of Philip II of Spain in it. This coat of arms is still visible today, but very deteriorated. The Old Palace eventually entered into a state of disrepair, and was largely abandoned. Most of its internal structure fell to ruin, although its main façade and four towers survived. The building was restored in the 20th century, but the internal chambers had been lost beyond repair. The four remaining towers are known as Torre de San Jorge (tower of St George), Torre de la Prisión (Tower of the prison), Torre de la Cigueña or de la Atalaya (Tower of the crane); the fourth tower has no specific name.

Nowadays, the Old Palace is a Parador de Turismo hotel called "Principe de Viana" facing a square known as Plaza de los Teobaldos. Nothing remains of the original internal structure of the old palace, except for the walls and outer façade have a Gothic window somewhat deteriorated with two shields on top among the pinnacles of the window.

Main article: Santa María la Real, Olite ( Basque : Andre Maria Erreginaren eliza, Erriberri )

The Gothic church inside the royal palace, built in 13th-century. It highlights consist of five decorated pointed archivolts, like the tympanum which is represented an image of Saint Mary head of the temple. On both sides are a group of blind arches with images representing the Apostles. In front of its main façade is a beautiful cloister of the same period.

Inside stands the 16th-century Renaissance reredos attributed to Pedro de Aponte, presided over by a Gothic sculpture of the Virgin.

Although the church is located between the Old Palace and the New Palace, was not Palatine temple, as the kings had their own chapel, known as Chapel of San Jorge.

New Palace, its front opens to the square called Plaza de Carlos III el Noble. At the end of 14th-century the King of Navarre Charles III "the Noble" of the House of Évreux, commissioned expansion works at the Old Palace in order to give the court a stationary and stable residence. While the first work consisted of repairs to the building and opening new spaces for courtiers, needs soon outgrew the castle, so the King had to consider the construction of new buildings that could accommodate the royal court. Additionally, his wife Elanor of Castile did not feel special predilection for the Old Palace considering it old and uncomfortable, which motivated the construction of a new Palace-Castle.

Charles III married Eleanor of Castile in 1375 and had eight children; Blanche that would be Queen of Navarre between 1425 and 1442 and Prince of Viana 's mother, this prince would die without leaving issue. Charles III is buried in the Cathedral of Pamplona with his wife who had died in 1415.

Between 1395 and 1400 several houses along the Old Palace were purchased in order to begin construction. Driven by Elanor of Castile the Old Palace was expanded from behind the iglesia de Santa María la Real.

But the important works of the palace were the work of King Charles III. These began in 1406 and were commissioned from Saúl de Arnedo and in 1424 the works were almost completed except some minor stays.

Built with large stone walls, the additions adopted a polygonal shape with incoming and outgoing somewhat untidy and numerous towers covered with slate roofs instead of the originals that were covered with lead roofs.