La Granja

   My class went on our second excursion at the end of last week. This excursion consisted of touring the palace in Segovia called El Palacio Real de La Granja de San Ildefonso or La Granja for short. The palace is situated in the northern slopes of La Sierra de Guaderrama and surrounded by over 1,500 acres of beautiful Versailles-inspired gardens. The royal history of the land starts before the 15th century, when it was a favored hunting spot among Castillian kings. In the 15th century, King Henry XV built a small shrine for San Ildefonso and a hunting lodge on the land. During the reign of Queen Isabel the Catholic, this land was given to a group of monks from the Parral Monastery. The monks built a farm and a small church on the land. This is where La Granja got its name (granja = farm). In 1719, King Phillip V bought the land from the monks and had a palace built. Phillip V was born and raised in Paris, France at Versailles so he had the palace and gardens built in the same style of design. For this reason, La Granja is sometimes called the "little Spanish Versailles." It became the summer palace of many kings and queens.

   Unfortunately, we could not take pictures inside of the palace for fear of people planning a heist, but it was truly remarkable. First, we saw a collection of tapestries, some bigger than most apartments in Segovia. The detail and craftsmanship in these tapestries was incredible. Spain has the best collection of tapestries in the world, both in quality and quantity. After the tapestries, we toured both the private and official rooms. In January of 1918 there was a fire at La Granja. The people living in the town of La Granja risked their lives to save as many artifacts as possible from the flames. Unfortunately, a lot was lost in the fire. However, thanks to the brave people of La Granja, much was saved. We were able to see the original artworks hung by the kings, statues, the table in which they ate and did business and so much more. Everyday I am shocked by the history here. It is definitely something that I will miss when I get back to the United States.

   The gardens were breath-taking.The forest surrounding the planted gardens truly reminded me of Northern Michigan in the summer. I'll let the photos do the rest of the talking..

Me standing in front of La Granja.

El Mar de los jadines. This is where all of the water for the fountains originates from. All of the fountains depend on gravity to run.

The back of the palace.