World Architecture Images- madrid The Alcazar

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	Essential Architecture- Madrid The Alcazar
architect	unknown
location	Segovia, near Madrid
date	1000 or 1410 to 1455
style	Romanesque
construction	stone
type	Castle






	The throne room.
The Alcázar of Segovia (literally known as "Segovia Castle") is a stone fortification, located in the old city of Segovia, Spain. Rising out on a rocky crag above the confluence of the rivers Eresma and Clamores near the Guadarrama mountains, it is one of the most distinctive castle-palaces in Spain by virtue of its shape - like the bow of a ship. The Alcázar was originally built as a fortress but has served as a royal palace, a state prison, a Royal Artillery College and a military academy since then. The Alcázar of Segovia, like many fortifications in Spain, started off as an Arab fort. The first reference to this particular Alcázar was in 1120, around 32 years after the city of Segovia returned to Christian hands (during the time when Alfonso VI of Castile reconquered lands to the south of the Duero river down to Toledo and beyond). However, archaeological evidence suggests that the site of this Alcázar was once used in Roman times as a fortification. This theory is further substantiated by the presence of Segovia's famous Roman Aqueduct. The shape and form of the Alcázar was not known until the reign of King Alfonso VIII (1155-1214), however early documentation mentioned a wooden stockade fence. It can be concluded that prior to Alfonso VIII's reign, it was no more than a wooden fort built over the old Roman foundations. Alfonso VIII and his wife, Eleanor of Plantagenet made this Alcázar their principal residence and much work was carried out to erect the beginnings of the stone fortification we see today. The Alcázar, throughout the Middle Ages, remained one of the favourite residences of the monarchs of the Kingdom of Castile and a key fortress in the defence of the kingdom. It was during this period a majority of the current building was constructed and the palace was extended on a large scale by the monarchs of the Trastámara dynasty. In 1258, parts of the Alcázar had to be rebuilt by King Alfonso X of Castile after a cave-in and soon after the Hall of Kings was built to house Parliament. However, the single largest contributor to the continuing construction of the Alcázar is King John II which built the 'New Tower' (John II tower as it is known today). In 1474, the Alcázar played a major role in the rise of Queen Isabella I of Castile. On the 12th December news of the King Henry IV's death in Madrid reached Segovia and Isabella immediately took refuge within the walls of this Alcázar where she received the support of Andres Cabrera and Segovia's council. She was coronated the next day as Queen of Castile and Leon. It was also the site where she married Fernando II. The next major renovation at the Alcázar was conducted by King Phillip II after his marriage to Anna of Austria. He added the sharp slate spires to reflect the castles of central Europe. In 1587, architect Francisco de Morar completed the main garden and the School of Honor areas of the castle. The royal court eventually moved to Madrid and the Alcázar then served as a state prison for almost two centuries before King Carlos III founded the Royal Artillery School in 1762. It served this function for almost a hundred years until March 6th 1862 where a fire badly damaged the roofs and framework. It was only in 1882 that the building was slowly restored to its original state. In 1896, King Alfonso XIII ordered the Alcázar to be handed over to the Ministry of War as a military college. Today, the Alcázar remains one of the most popular historical sights in Spain and is one of the three major attractions in Segovia. Notable rooms are the Hall of Ajimeces which houses many works of art, the Hall of the Throne and the Hall of Kings with a frieze representing all of the Spanish Kings and Queens starting from Pelagius of Asturias down to Juana la Loca after moving to El Palacio Real in Madrid, Spain.

An alcázar is a Spanish castle, from the Arabic word al qasr meaning palace or fortress, from the Latin castellum "fortress" (ultimately from castrum "watchpost"). Many cities in Spain have an alcázar. In the Alcázar of Segovia, Queen Isabella of Castile married King Ferdinand II of Aragon. Built in the 12th century. During the Middle Ages, the alcázar of Segovia was the favourite residence of kings of Castile, and almost each king added new parts to the building, transforming the original fortress into a courtier residence and prolonging the construction of the castle till 16th century, when king Philip II added the conical spires and the slate roofs. A fire in 1862 destroyed part of the roofs, but they were restored in the very same style they were built 300 years ago. It is known that Walt Disney was inspired by the Alcazar de Segovia to create his famous Cinderella Castle. The Alcázar of Toledo was used as a military academy in modern times. The famous "Siege of the Alcázar" in the Spanish Civil War refers to the Toledo castle, which was held by the Nationalist Colonel José Moscardó Ituarte against overwhelming Republican forces. Republican forces kidnapped Moscardó's son. They said Moscardó could either turn over the Alcazar or his son would die. Moscardo did not surrender and his son was murdered in July of 1936. The Alcázar of Seville was built in the 1360s by Moorish craftsmen for Pedro the Cruel who, with his mistress, Maria de Padilla, lived in and ruled from the Alcazar, and often remodeled. A UNESCO World Heritage site. Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos in Córdoba, Spain was a Moorish palace taken over after the Reconquista. Alcázar was the summer home of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella and the site of their meeting with Christopher Columbus before his famous voyage. Outside Spain, in modern Palermo, Sicily, the district still called the Cassaro corresponds to the area of ancient Punic settlement of Zis, on high ground that was refortified by the Arabs and called ????? al qasr, and further expanded as the site of the later Norman palace. During the Spanish transition to democracy, the newspaper El Alcázar expressed the views of the búnker, the extreme right that opposed any democratization.
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