Alhambra Granada
37 10 '37 "N 3 35' 24" W / 37.17687, -3.58988
Spain Identification
** UNESCO Geographical Classification
The Alhambra (in Arabic : , "the Red" because of the color are the walls at sunset) from Granada is one of the major monuments of Islamic architecture and medieval acropolis The most majestic of the Mediterranean world. With the Great Mosque of Cordoba 's most prestigious witnessed the Muslim presence in Spain of the eighth to fifteenth century (see Iberian Peninsula or Al-Andalus ). Their characters are indeed opposites: the sober grandeur of the religious monument representing the first Islamic Architecture (see Art of the Spanish Umayyads ), opposes the exuberance of the last Moorish manner : it s' indeed expressed in the palaces of past rulers Nasrid , then rapidly decline, which will soon disappear in the latest onslaught of Reconquista.
Summary |
Overview
It is a fortified complex of buildings on the hill Sabika , which dominates the plain and the city of Granada, and facing the picturesque neighborhood of Albaicin. One can see the distant snow-capped peaks of the Sierra Nevada. Among these buildings are found including the Moorish palace that is the glory of the Alhambra and the Renaissance palace of Charles V and a church built at the site of a mosque.
The name comes from Arabic Qalat al-Hamra is to say "the red castle." If the hill Sabika is converted from 1237 under the direction of the Almohad Al-Ahmar, the origin of the Alhambra was in 1238 with the entry of the first ruler in Granada Nazari, Mohammed ben Nazar. His son Muhammad II strengthened him. Style Nazari reached its apogee in the fourteenth century under the kings Yusuf I and Muhammad V al-Ghani , who build the most prestigious parties between 1333 and 1354. Each ruler took over the palace of his predecessor and building new parts, and modified at will: there is a labor Nasrid palace, in the plural, for this set.
While almost everywhere in the Muslim world the old palaces have disappeared or are in ruins, still has the Alhambra palace of two groups of XIV century. The houses built by the first rulers of the dynasty and disappeared at the fifteenth century , the kings of Granada did not have the resources to replace the palace to be admired today and for much longer.
Posterity
After the reign of Nasrid, despite the desire of the Catholic Monarchs to erase the traces of Islam territories fully regained by Christians after the fall of Granada in 1492 , the Moorish palace was so beautiful that he was saved and served royal residence where the court was going to Granada. The sovereign will proclaim the decree of the Alhambra.
The assembly then fell into disuse, not being restored on the occasion of royal visits.
The Alhambra is therefore a major historical events, including the looters appeared, which described Washington Irving in his stories (see bibliography at end of article ).
A brilliant action saved the Alcazaba from destruction during the Spanish Civil War.
The gardens are now maintained through the Patronato de la Alhambra, which manages the whole monument and allows access to 7000 people per day.
The gazelle was the symbol of the Alhambra, it is similar to a heraldic emblem from the tourist exploitation of the site. This image is the stylized version of a decorative vase found among the objects of the Alhambra, the original is in the Palace Museum Charles Quint.
Description
The French poet Victor Hugo , in the Eastern XXXI of Book III, dated 3-5 April 1828, gives the following description:
- "The Alhambra! Alhambra! palace geniuses
- Have a golden dream and filled with harmonies.
- Fortress and festooned with crumbling battlements
- Where you can hear the night's magic syllables,
- When the moon, through a thousand hoops Arab
- Sow the walls of white clover. "
- Victor Hugo - Excerpt from " Les Orientales "XXXI (Grenada), Book III
The Citadel
This is the original citadel, like a fortress , built on the south facade of the hill of the Alhambra. It has a height strategically unstoppable: the top of the tallest tower, one can observe the whole plain of Granada, the " Vega granadina.
The Alcazaba fortress is hosting the men of war to the Alhambra. Its architecture is dedicated to the protection of the fortress in times of siege. Featuring an inner medina, separate from the walls of the Alhambra, it is the dungeon inside a castle , in terms of medieval architecture.
Its name comes from the Arabic "Al Casbah."
The fortress also had steam rooms , which are now being restored.
During the Reconquista in the fifteenth century, the princes Nazari watched from the top of the tower of the Alcazaba movements of military troops in the plain of Granada. Symbolically, the Catholic Monarchs , their opponents, had moved to Santa Fe fortified military camp in the middle of enemy territory, to assert their predominance in the field.
The Palace Nasrid
The overall plan of Palace Nasrid organized into multiple rectangular rooms, partially integrated into the enclosure, connected by hallways. The assembly is placed around the two jewels of the Alhambra in Granada:
- The Court of the Myrtles at the foot of the Tower of Comares and the Salon des Ambassadeurs.
- The Court of Lions
We may as well talk of a decoration than an architecture. The exterior is very plain, the interior is lavish, with the three basic components of Islamic arts : calligraphy, stylized floral decorations, arabesques and geometric patterns.
The Gardens Partal
These gardens are located within the walls of the Alhambra, they have seen the most precious and finest in the neighborhood of Albaicin. The gardens are in successive stages, separated by stairs and pergolas.
The Tower of the Ladies (Torre de las Damas) is one of the most famous parts of the Gardens Partal. Its colonnaded portico of reflecting on a pond, placed specifically for the view, is particularly photogenic.
The gardens are accessible Partal output Nasrid Palace. One can also visit them without going through the palace, passing on the right wall of the Palace of Charles V , by opposing a path to his front door.
We can see in the gardens the remains of several palaces, as this area was inhabited by the Muslim nobility. The most important of these was the Palace of Yusuf III , which resembled the Comares Palace (Palacio de Comares). It was destroyed in the eighteenth century , but according to accounts he was the most beautiful palaces of the Alhambra.
The Generalife
It was the summer palace of the princes Nasrid. They came to refresh themselves in the shade, near water basins. The Generalife is situated outside the walls, on the other side of the main plate. This palace is famous in Spain and several poems were written on this subject.
The name is derived from the Arabic "Jannat al-Arif," meaning "paradise" or "gardens of the architect."
The abundance of water in the Andalusia dominated by the snowy peaks of the Sierra Nevada , was for all these princes from the desert, a true revelation. The Alhambra and the Generalife gardens are the strongest symbols of the domestication of water refreshed every yard and garden.
The palace of Charles V
The Emperor leaned against his palace to palace Nasrid circular in the middle of the plateau overlooking the hill.
Its architecture is typical of the imperial architecture of the late Renaissance , stately, contrasting with the nearby palaces.
Medina
The Medina is the first area accessible once past the drawbridge back. It corresponds to a populated area.
Towers speaker
At the time of its glory, the Alhambra fielded defense turns thirty. When taking the monument by the French troops of Napoleon , the most strategic towers were destroyed to make all safe. Military engineers also undertook the renovation of other areas of the Alhambra, questionable information today by the Spanish historiography.
Palace lost, or being restored
- These ruins are described in the Schedule section of the plateau Sabika.
General Gallery
 | Click on a thumbnail to enlarge |
Inside the palace Nasrid painting orientalist of Adolf Seel , 1886
Palace of Charles V , exterior
The gardens of the Convent of St. Francis in the precincts of the Alhambra
The palace of Charles V courtyard
Window with arabesques
This painting style romantic fits into the current Western
Palacio de Carlos V (Alhambra)
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- Note: related articles may contain additional galleries associated with it.
See also
Related Work
- Recuerdos de la Alhambra: the famous tremolo for guitar by Francisco Tarrega.
- La Puerta del vino: prelude for piano of Claude Debussy (Book II, 1912-13), a Spanish poetic imagination (Debussy account for only a short trip to Spain afternoon bullfight in San Sebastian ).
- Lindaraja: Room for 2 pianos (1901) by Claude Debussy
- El Albaicin: (3rd book) for piano by Isaac Albniz
References
Bibliography
- Tales of the Alhambra: a story of American traveler easy nineteenth century , Washington Irving , said Spain and its inhabitants at the time and they transmit the oral legends about the Alhambra. You can find this book, translated into many languages, visiting the monument.
- The adventures of the last Abencerages, Francois Rene de Chateaubriand
- The Alhambra and Anne Stierlin Henri, Imprimerie Nationale, 2001, ISBN 2-7433-0422-7
- Scarlet Memoirs: journal, probably autobiographical, life of Boabdil , the last sultan of Granada (Memoirs scarlet, Antonio Gala, JC Lattes, 1996, ISBN 978-2-7096-1716-1 )
External Links
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