Mafra Palace

Mafra, Portugal

The Palace of Mafra is a monumental Baroque and Neoclassical palace-monastery located 28 kilometres from Lisbon. The palace, which also served as a Franciscan monastery, was built during the reign of King John V (1707–1750), as consequence of a vow the king made in 1711, to build a convent if his wife, Queen Mary Anne of Austria, gave him offspring. The birth of his first daughter, princess Barbara of Braganza, prompted construction of the palace to begin. The palace was conveniently located near royal hunting preserves, and was usually a secondary residence for the royal family.

This vast complex is among the most sumptuous Baroque buildings in Portugal and at 40,000 m², one of the largest royal palaces. Designed by the German architect João Frederico Ludovice, the palace was built symmetrically from a central axis, occupied by the basilica, and continues lengthwise through the main façade until two major towers. The structures of the convent are located behind the main façade. The building also includes a major library, with about 40,000 rare books. The basilica is decorated with several Italian statues and includes six historical pipe organs and two carillons, composed of 92 bells.

The construction began by the laying of the first stone in 1717 with a grand ceremony in the presence of the king, his entire court and the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon. Construction lasted 13 years and mobilized a vast army of workers from the entire country (a daily average of 15,000 but at the end climbing to 30,000 and a maximum of 45,000).

The facade is 220 meters long. The whole complex covers 37,790 m² with about 1,200 rooms, more than 4,700 doors and windows, and 156 stairways. When complete the building consisted of a friary capable of sheltering 330 friars, along with a royal palace and a huge library of 40,000 books, embellished with marble, exotic woods and countless artworks taken from France, Flanders and Italy, which included six monumental pipe organs and the two carillons.

The basilica and the convent were inaugurated on the day of the King's 41st birthday on October 22, 1730. The festivities lasted for 8 days and were of a scale never seen before in Portugal. The basilica was dedicated to Our Lady and to St. Anthony.

However the building was not finished. The lantern on the cupola was completed in 1735. Work continued till 1755, when the work force was needed in Lisbon by the devastations of the Lisbon earthquake.

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 and was finished in 2010.

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Address

Rua Canal, Mafra, Portugal
See all sites in Mafra

Details

Founded: 1717-1730
Category: Palaces, manors and town halls in Portugal

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Jim J. (3 months ago)
Beautiful national Palace that demonstrates the richness and life of the Portuguese royals. First floor is all infirmary, 2nd floor is priest priest quarters, 3rd floor is royal residence and library. 232 meter long hallway between the king and queen quarters. Basilica between the two towers is magnificent
Amnah Amjad (3 months ago)
Alot of halls were not available to see. Also the entry and exit is not circular making you walk all the way back to exit. Otherwise a nice place to visit. Lots of artistic roofs
Denislav Ganchev (4 months ago)
Amazing library! It’s absolutely stunning with its historic charm and over 36,000 books. The whole palace is impressive, but the library is definitely the highlight.
Thomas Frazer (5 months ago)
I don’t give 5 Stars easily so this is a unique place. Let’s start with the essentials. There is lots of free parking. The plaza in front is open and spacious. The entry fee is quite reasonable and the people are nice. The reasons for 5 Stars: There are well written explanations of what you are looking at and why it is important. It’s easy to be educated here. You can get relatively close to the displays. They have live people dressed in period costumes who are part of the displays. The tour route is well marked. It isn’t crowded. The library and the collections therein are simply amazing. The bats that keep the books safe from insects are unique. The bathrooms were clean. It’s fun! Go!
Jonas Jurczok (8 months ago)
The place itself is very impressive and huge. However when we where there we could not enter it. The park behind it, however, is really beautiful. The paths and flower patches are incredibly well maintained. Depending on what you are looking for you can either sit with many other people in a nice picnic/playground place or you can walk the paths through dense forest like areas with birds singing and running water. I highly recommend this place.
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