The Palacio de los Reyes de Navarra is a historical building in Estella; it is the Romanesque former royal palace of the Kings and Queens of Navarre from the late 12th century to the mid-15th. In the twentieth century the building, which had fallen into disrepair, was restored and in 1991 converted into the Museo Gustavo de Maeztu, housing the work of the painter Gustavo de Maeztu y Whitney and open to the public. The building is important in the history of architecture in Navarre, since it is the only civil building extant from the Romanesque period.
The most significant element is the main facade, located opposite the stairway of San Pedro de la Rúa. It consists of two floors built in ashlar masonry, which are divided in height by a simple molded cornice. The lower body is a gallery of four arches framed by columns attached to the wall, decorated with capitals of vegetable and figurative type.
On the left side there are figures of stylized forms that narrate an episode of the Legend of Roland, specifically the scene of Roldan's fight against the giant Ferragut, trying to exemplify the struggle of good against evil. It is signed by Martinus of Logroño. On the right side, the decoration is formed by thin leaves of penca, Cistercian rooted.
The second floor has four large windows, each divided into its internal space by four slightly pointed arches that rest on fine encapsulated columns adorned with plant, animal and figurative decoration. Above them, a cornice with sculpted corbels. Here the original forms alternate with recent reconstructions, given that over time the structure was modified to adapt to the needs and diverse functions that it has had as a palace and as a prison for the judicial district.
It is closed on its sides by two semi-columns, with a decorative scheme on its different capitals. On the left is a capital with plant decoration, while on the right side you can see a set where scenes have been conceived related to the sin of pride, the punishment of hell and lust.
The third floor, work of the 18th century, is built in brick.
References:The Jan Hus Memorial stands at one end of Old Town Square. The huge monument depicts victorious Hussite warriors and Protestants who were forced into exile 200 years after Hus, and a young mother who symbolises national rebirth. The monument was so large that the sculptor designed and built his own villa and studio where the work could be carried out. It was unveiled in 1915 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Jan Hus' martyrdom. The memorial was designed by Ladislav Šaloun and paid for solely by public donations.
Born in 1369, Hus became an influential religious thinker, philosopher, and reformer in Prague. He was a key predecessor to the Protestant movement of the sixteenth century. In his works he criticized religious moral decay of the Catholic Church. Accordingly, the Czech patriot Hus believed that mass should be given in the vernacular, or local language, rather than in Latin. He was inspired by the teachings of John Wycliffe.