Prince's Palace in Monaco

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Prince's Palace of Monaco
Overview plan of the palace complex

The Prince's Palace of Monaco ( French Palais Princier de Monaco ) even princes palace of the Grimaldis called, is the official residence of the Prince of Monaco .

History and description

A Genoese fortification was built in 1191 on the rock le Rocher on the Mediterranean . From this medieval castle , three restored towers with dovetail crenellations are still preserved on the right side of the palace. Numerous expansions followed. In the 15th century, the complex had to be converted into a garrison . Subsequently, the rulers of Monaco began to transform the complex into a palace and added the representative buildings from 1520 with wing structures around the main courtyard from which a white, marble horseshoe-shaped staircase leads to the loggia , the Hercules Gallery . Louis I ordered the construction of the baroque main portal with the Grimaldi coat of arms and the staircase modeled on Fontainebleau Castle . The 30 steps are made from a single block of Carrara marble. Orazio Ferrari decorated the loggia with depictions of the deeds of Heracles . Prince Honoré II of Monaco had the east wing built in 1632. Prince Charles III provided the baroque interior . after the French Revolution around 1865. In terms of architectural history, the palace is a conglomerate of different styles from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance to the 19th century.

The main room of the palace rooms is the throne room. The ceiling painting of the mirror vault depicting the extradition to Alexander the Great was created by Orazio de Ferrari. The lion's throne is on the long side. The floors of the palace are made of Carrara marble . Other sights include the Spiegel Gallery , the Enfilade with the Blue Salon , the Red Salon with red brocade , pictures by Jan Brueghel the Elder , Charles Lebrun and 18th century French furniture. This is followed by the York room , a bedroom with pictures of the four seasons by Gregorio de Ferrari, the yellow drawing room , the bedroom of Louis XV. and the Mazarin salon . This room is held in a gold tone and with paneling . Jules Mazarin's portrait hangs over the fireplace .

The basis of the princely art collection with works by Domenico Ghirlandaio , Tizian , Albrecht Dürer , Raffael , Peter Paul Rubens and Michelangelo comes from Honoré II .

Parts of the palace are temporarily open to the public as a museum. In the left front part of the palace is the Napoleon Museum with memorabilia from the Napoleonic era. The Prince's Palace is located in Monaco-Ville , the old town.

Web links

Commons : Prince's Palace in Monaco  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 43 ° 43 ′ 52 "  N , 7 ° 25 ′ 11"  E