Guzmanes Palace

León, Spain

The current headquarters of the the provincial government is one of the most beautiful palaces in the León. The Palacio de los Guzmanes construction took place between 1559 and 1572 in the lands where the old city wall used to stand. The construction work was never finished and the palace deteriorated until i tended up abandoned. In 1882 it was purchased by the provincial government  for its recovery, and since then, a series of reforms have taken place.

It is a place of delicate elegance from the Renaissance, with flair and structural simplicity. Inside, the extraordinary courtyard leads up the stairs to the administrative offices. At the main entrance, there are two reliefs: one represents Saint Augustine washing Pilgrim Christ’s feet. The other is the Annunciation. Likewise, there’s the sculpture of the aforementioned bishop Juan Quiñones de Guzmán, work by Valentín Yugueros. In the façade there is the mysterious Guzmanes’ coat of arms, a bucket with six snakes getting out.

The building’s base is like a trapezoid, with four towers at the corners and an indoor courtyard with columns and beautiful stained glass windows at the second level. The palace has two parts: balconies in the upper one and barred windows in the lower one. The main façade makes up a third part, which is a gallery of glazed arches between Corinthian pilasters. The building’s floors are vertically connected through a spiral staircase located at the Southeast tower.

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Address

Calle Cid 4, León, Spain
See all sites in León

Details

Founded: 1559-1572
Category: Palaces, manors and town halls in Spain

More Information

turisleon.com

Rating

4.4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Un Vagabundo (12 months ago)
Free tours are provided in the morning (short) and afternoon (longer), both in Spanish only. You need to put your name down on a piece of paper at 10am in the moring if you want to join the free tour. I don't really understand Spanish but it was nice to be able to walk around inside this former palace.
Colette Bruton (2 years ago)
Tour only in Spanish and the lady who gave the tour seemed to have some English but we were left sittin and standing in the courtyard and the government chamber like dummies. Pity we wasted our time. I googled the basics about the place while sitting there. Bored and frustrated.
Nina Wolf (5 years ago)
The tour is quite boring. Not much to see, a lot of explanations.
Susan Slavik (6 years ago)
Beautiful
Leo De Leon (6 years ago)
Architectural beauty. Wonderful artifacts.
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