The Royal Palace of Tétouan is a palace of the

Moroccan Monarchy Moroccan may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to the country of Morocco * Moroccan people * Moroccan Arabic, spoken in Morocco * Moroccan Jews See also * Morocco leather Morocco leather (also known as Levant, the French Maro ...

Tétouan Tétouan ( ar, تطوان, tiṭwān, ber, ⵜⵉⵟⵟⴰⵡⴰⵏ, tiṭṭawan; es, Tetuán) is a city in northern Morocco. It lies along the Martil Valley and is one of the two major ports of Morocco on the Mediterranean Sea, a few miles so ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, and the former main seat of political authority of the

Spanish protectorate in Morocco The Spanish protectorate in Morocco ; es, Protectorado español de Marruecos, links=no, was established on 27 November 1912 by a treaty between France and Spain that converted the Spanish sphere of influence in Morocco into a formal protect ...

from 1913 to 1956. It encloses both the former governor's palace and the former Spanish consulate, which in the protectorate era respectively housed the ''Khalifa'' or personal representative of the

Sultan of Morocco This is the list of rulers of Morocco, since the establishment of the state in 789. The common and formal titles of these rulers has varied, depending on the time period. Since 1957, the designation King has been used. The present King of Moroc ...

on the compound's northwestern side, and the Spanish High Commissioner on its southeastern side. The palace is located on

Hassan II Hassan, Hasan, Hassane, Haasana, Hassaan, Asan, Hassun, Hasun, Hassen, Hasson or Hasani may refer to: People *Hassan (given name), Arabic given name and a list of people with that given name *Hassan (surname), Arabic, Jewish, Irish, and Scottis ...

Square, a historic urban space also traditionally known as the , in the Medina of Tétouan.

History

Palace of the Governor, then of the Khalifa

The compound's oldest building was constructed around 1740 as the local Government Palace (''Dar al-Emrat''). In 1913 it became the seat of the ''Khalifa'', namely until his death in 1923, then his son Hassan Ben el Mehedi Ben Ismael until the protectorate's end in 1956. It was remodeled several times, including in 1947 on a design by painter .

Spanish Consulate, then High Commissariate

The Spanish Consulate in Tétouan was established following the

Treaty of Wad Ras The Treaty of Wad Ras (, ) was a treaty signed between Morocco and Spain at the conclusion of the War of Tetuan on April 26, 1860 at Wad Ras, located between Tetuan and Tangier. The conditions of the treaty exacerbated Morocco's defeat in the ...

that concluded the

Hispano-Moroccan War (1859–1860) The Hispano-Moroccan War, also known as the Spanish–Moroccan War, the First Moroccan War, the Tetuán War, or, in Spain, as the War of Africa, was fought from Spain's declaration of war on Morocco on 22 October 1859 until the Treaty of Wad- ...

, which also stipulated that a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

mission be created in the town. The consulate's main building was designed by Coronel Gelis of the Spanish Corps of Engineers and built between 1861 and 1864. The adjacent Franciscan church was completed in 1866. In 1913, the consulate building became the residence of the High Commissioner of the newly created

, also known as the High Commissariate ( es, Alta Comisaría). It was subsequently remodeled in the mid-1910s by Tétouan municipal architect , who added the two circular towers that frame the building's western façade. In 1926, the Franciscan mission moved away from the compound and relocated to the newly built church of in the Spanish colonial expansion of the city ( es, ). The interiors of the High Commissioner's residence were again remodeled in the late 1940s by High Commissioner

José Enrique Varela José Enrique Varela Iglesias, 1st Marquis of San Fernando de Varela (17 April 1891 – 24 March 1951) was a Spanish military officer noted for his role as a Nationalist commander in the Spanish Civil War. Early career Varela started his milita ...

Royal Palace

The complex was repurposed as a Royal palace following Morocco's independence in 1956 and its proclamation as a kingdom on . It was refurbished under King

by designer . In 1988, the ''Feddan'' was remodeled and a wall and monumental gate were built, thus isolating the former High Commissioner's residence from public view. The palace is not open to the public.

References

Palaces in Morocco 'Alawi architecture Royal residences in Morocco Tétouan {{Morocco-struct-stub