The Soto Fermoso Palace was originally built as a Templar fortress, later becoming, around the 12th or 13th century, the Cistercian abbey that gave its name to the village, and finally, the palace of the House of Alba. It belonged to the Ducal House of Alba from the mid-15th century until the early 20th century.
The building, with a square plan, is situated in a place of great beauty. The courtyard is Mudejar, with two floors, and consists of a double gallery of five arches on each side. The lower arches are pointed horseshoe and Mudejar from the 16th century, while the upper ones are escarzano style from the same century, featuring the heraldic shields of the House of Alba in the corners. The rooms are distributed around this courtyard.
The palace's garden was Renaissance and was created by order of Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alba. It blended architectural and sculptural constructions, paintings, stuccos with various plant species, and water features. Currently, it is very deteriorated, and only some parts of the garden, such as the statue of Andromeda, are preserved.
The palace was formerly a cultural and artistic center of great importance, serving as a literary academy for Italians and Flemish, with artists like Garcilaso de la Vega and Lope de Vega passing through.
Rosenborg Palace was built in the period 1606-34 as Christian IV’s summerhouse just outside the ramparts of Copenhagen. Christian IV was very fond of the palace and often stayed at the castle when he resided in Copenhagen, and it was here that he died in 1648. After his death, the palace passed to his son King Frederik III, who together with his queen, Sophie Amalie, carried out several types of modernisation.
The last king who used the place as a residence was Frederik IV, and around 1720, Rosenborg was abandoned in favor of Frederiksborg Palace.Through the 1700s, considerable art treasures were collected at Rosenborg Castle, among other things items from the estates of deceased royalty and from Christiansborg after the fire there in 1794.
Soon the idea of a museum arose, and that was realised in 1833, which is The Royal Danish Collection’s official year of establishment.