The Palace of Carlos V

If you have not yet looked at the posts on the Comares Palace and Palace of the Lions, I hope you will do so.

I almost forgot about the Palace of Carlos V, another building within the environment of the Alhambra that should be mentioned. I'm not sure how I managed to forget it, partly because it is so large and partly because, architecturally, it is such a stark and uninspiring contrast to the rest of the Alhambra, especially the Nasrid Palaces. Well, maybe those are the reasons I almost forgot about it.

It has apparently been both vilified and called outstanding - vilified because some see it as an attempt by the Spanish Monarchs to erase the Muslim past - considered grand because, after the conquest, it was the intent of the rulers to "reinforce the role of Granada as capital by building great new monuments without destroying the old, thus complementing without distracting from the past".

Whatever the intent, it is certainly grand in the sense of being large. But beside the Muslim architecture and gardens, it looks stodgy and, except for the open central circular area, it feels heavy, dark, gloomy and, in my view, without beauty.

This is a photo from our visit in 2009 when it was pouring rain. I include this to show how gloomy it can be :-)

It was built next to the Nasrid palaces and one source suggests that it is because of the presence of the Carlos V palace "that the Alhambra came to be included in the patrimony of the Spanish Royal palaces instead of being reduced to an archeological remnant of a defeated culture". Though there may be some attractive features in the Palace of Carlos V, compared to the Alhambra and especially the exquisite and enchanting Nazarid palaces it is, to me, a conspicuous symbol of the great loss consequent to the defeat of that culture.

Incidentally, that's our group there taking photos.

In 1526, 34 years after the Catholic victory in Granada, Charles (Carlos) V, Emperor of Spain, while on his honeymoon with his wife Isabel of Portugal, stayed in the Alhambra in rooms which later became known as the "lodgings of Charles V". He was apparently impressed with the Alhambra and to "show his appreciation" he decided to add to it in order to "make it suitable for the needs of a modern court". It is referred to as the Palace of Charles V but he had little or nothing to do with the design and planning, which he left to others. What emerged from the contributions of a number of people over several years was this building which reflects the renaissance style that was in vogue at the time.

It is arranged with large halls around the centre circle, except in the north west corner where the chapel and crypt are located. I don't recall going into any of the rooms or the chapel so I have no images to show, but photos I have seen echo the rather stark features we did see.

It seems that interest (or money or both) waned as the structure was never completed (e.g. the second floor was without a roof until 1960 when the wooden roof you see in this photo was added!). Another explanation for the failure to complete it suggested that a subsequent Emperor decided that he preferred to have a palace in the new capital, Sevilla, so abandoned this project for the new one. And, if I recall our guide's comments correctly, Carlos' palace was rarely, if ever, really used.

Ironically, now instead of the palace of Carlos V being responsible for the Alhambra "being included in the patrimony of the Spanish Royal palaces….", it seems to me that the Palace of Carlos V retains a visible place among Spanish palaces solely because it is part of the Alhambra which is said to be the most visited monument in Spain.