The Palace of the Councils or Palace of the Duke of Uceda (in Spanish, Palacio de los Consejos or Palacio del duque de Uceda) is a building from the 17th century located in central

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, Spain. It is located on the

Calle Mayor ''Main Street'' ( es, Calle Mayor) is a 1956 Spanish drama film directed by Juan Antonio Bardem starring Betsy Blair and José Suárez. It is based on a Carlos Arniches play titled '' La señorita de Trévelez''. Shooting locations were Palencia ...

, corner of calle Bailén Street. The palace is representative of Spanish

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

architecture, and was commissioned by Cristóbal Gómez de Sandoval-Rojas, first

Duke of Uceda Duke of Uceda ( es, Duque de Uceda) is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1610 by Philip III to Cristóbal Gómez de Sandoval, who succeeded his father Francisco Gómez de Sandoval ...

, and powerful prime minister or

valido Valido is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alexis Valido (born 1976), Spanish volleyball player * Agustín Valido (1914–1998), Argentine footballer * Pedro Valido (born 1970), Portuguese footballer and coach See also

* ...

of King

Philip III of Spain Philip III ( es, Felipe III; 14 April 1578 – 31 March 1621) was King of Spain. As Philip II, he was also King of Portugal, Naples, Sicily and Sardinia and Duke of Milan from 1598 until his death in 1621. A member of the House of Habsburg, Phi ...

. It was designed by

Francisco de Mora Francisco de Mora (c.1553–1610) was a Spanish Renaissance architect. Mora was born in Cuenca, Spain, Cuenca, and was an uncle of both the architect Juan Gómez de Mora and the humanist Baltasar Porreño. He is considered one of the best r ...

, although works was directed by

Juan Gómez de Mora Juan Gómez de Mora (1586–1648) was a Spanish architect, active in the 17th century. He was a main figure of Spanish early-Baroque architecture in the city of Madrid. Gómez de Mora was born and died in Madrid. His father, also , was a Spa ...

and executed by Captain

Alonso Turrillo Alonso is a Spanish name of Germanic origin that is a Castilian variant of ''Adalfuns''. Geographical distribution As of 2014, 36.6% of all known bearers of the surname ''Alonso'' were residents of Spain (frequency 1:222), 26.1% of Mexico (1:83 ...

from 1608 to 1613. The palace stands before the Church of

Santa María de la Almudena Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnight ...

. When it was built, decorated with the heraldic arms of the Sandoval family flanked by lions, it was judged too ostentatious for a nobleman. After the Duke's fall from grace, it became property of the Royal family, and housed the mother of

Charles II of Spain Charles II of Spain (''Spanish: Carlos II,'' 6 November 1661 – 1 November 1700), known as the Bewitched (''Spanish: El Hechizado''), was the last Habsburg ruler of the Spanish Empire. Best remembered for his physical disabilities and the War o ...

, the queen mother,

Mariana of Austria Mariana of Austria ( es, Mariana de Austria) or Maria Anna (24 December 163416 May 1696) was List of Spanish royal consorts, Queen of Spain as the second wife of her uncle Philip IV of Spain from their marriage in 1649 until Philip died in 1665. ...

. She died there on the night of May 16, 1696. Upon his arrival to Madrid in 1701, the Bourbon king

Philip V of Spain Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724, and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign of 45 years is the longest in the history of the Spanish mon ...

transferred many of the royal offices or councils from the then extant

Real Alcázar of Madrid Real may refer to: Currencies * Brazilian real (R$) * Central American Republic real * Mexican real * Portuguese real * Spanish real * Spanish colonial real Music Albums * Real (L'Arc-en-Ciel album), ''Real'' (L'Arc-en-Ciel album) (2000) * Real ...

to the Palacio de Uceda, and since then, it has been known as the ''Palacio de los Consejos''. The main council, however, remained in the palace. In the 19th century, the

council of state A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

and the Capitanía General were moved here.

References

{{reflist

External links

Web del Consejo de Estado
Consejos, Palacio de Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in Madrid Herrerian architecture Buildings and structures in Palacio neighborhood, Madrid