Chapultepec Castle

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Chapultepec Castle

Chapultepec Castle is located on the summit of Chapultepec ("Locust Hill" on Nahuatl ) in the west of Mexico City . Today's appearance is largely due to renovations during the Second Empire .

history

Even before the conquest of the Aztec Empire by Hernán Cortés there was a palace at the foot of the mountain , which was destroyed by the Spaniards . In 1784 viceroy Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid had a summer residence built. In 1806 the castle was acquired by the City of Mexico. The building was abandoned during the War of Independence and was re-used as a military academy in 1833 and was converted for it. The castle was attacked in the Mexican-American War of 1847, and the resistance of the cadets in the Battle of Chapultepec is still honored in Mexico today.

Imperial residence

In 1864, Emperor Maximilian had the palace converted into an imperial residence . The expansion plans of his court architect Carl Gangolf Kaysers for a large expansion in the medieval style were not implemented. Nevertheless, under the supervision of architect Ramon Rodrigez Arrioti, the renovations cost enormous amounts of money. The bills were paid from the private box, because the state treasury was empty. Some rooms with original Maximilian furniture have been preserved. At that time the castle was still outside the city. Maximilian ordered the construction of a dead straight boulevard that connected the imperial residence with the city center. This Paseo de la Emperatriz was named in honor of Empress Carlotta . After the republic was restored in 1867, the boulevard was renamed Paseo de la Reforma . After the death of Emperor Maximilian, many outstanding bills were settled by Austrian companies, but after the Mexican coffers were empty, attempts were made to regard the immediate family as responsible, especially his heirs.

Chapultepec Castle, hall corridor with stained glass windows

today

After the fall of the Second Empire , the castle served the presidents of Mexico as the official seat of government. Since 1944 the castle has housed the "Museo Nacional de Historia".

Web links

Commons : Chapultepec Castle  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ilsebill Barta: Maximilian v Mexico, The dream of ruling. In: Publication of the museums of the movables depot . tape 31 , p. 101 to 109 .
  2. ^ Artstetten Castle Archive / Emperor Maximilian v. Mexico / Regal C and Wladimir Aichelburg, Erz Franz Ferdinand von Österreich Este 1863-1914, Tome 3, page 873

Coordinates: 19 ° 25 ′ 13.7 ″  N , 99 ° 10 ′ 54.4 ″  W.