Chapultepec Castle () is located on top of Chapultepec Hill in Mexico City's Chapultepec park. The name ''Chapultepec'' is the

Nahuatl Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...

word which means "on the hill of the grasshopper". It is located at the entrance to Chapultepec park, at a height of above sea level. The site of the hill was a sacred place for Aztecs, and the buildings atop it have served several purposes during its history, including serving as a military academy, imperial residence, presidential residence,

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Th ...

, and since February 1939, the National Museum of History. Chapultepec Castle, along with Iturbide Palace, also in Mexico City, are the only royal palaces in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

which were inhabited by monarchs. It was built during the Viceroyalty of New Spain as a summer house for the highest colonial administrator, the

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

. It was given various uses, from a gunpowder warehouse to a military academy in 1841. It was remodeled and added to and became the official residence of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico and his consort Empress Carlota during the Second Mexican Empire (1864–67). In 1882, President Manuel González declared it the official residence of the president. With few exceptions, all succeeding presidents lived there until 1934, when President

Lázaro Cárdenas Lázaro Cárdenas del Río (; 21 May 1895 – 19 October 1970) was a Mexican army officer and politician who served as president of Mexico from 1934 to 1940. Previously, he served as a general in the Constitutional Army during the Mexican Revo ...

stayed at Los Pinos instead, turning the castle into a museum in 1939.

Viceregal period

In 1785

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

Bernardo de Gálvez ordered the construction of a stately home for himself at the highest point of Chapultepec Hill. Francisco Bambitelli, Lieutenant Colonel of the Spanish Army and

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

, drew up the

blueprint A blueprint is a reproduction of a technical drawing or engineering drawing using a contact print process on light-sensitive sheets introduced by Sir John Herschel in 1842. The process allowed rapid and accurate production of an unlimited number ...

and began the construction on August 16 of the same year. After Bambitelli's departure to

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Captain Manuel Agustín Mascaró took over the leadership of the project and during his tenure the works proceeded at a rapid pace. Mascaró was accused of building a

fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...

with the intent of rebelling against the Spanish Crown from there. Viceroy de Gálvez died suddenly on November 8, 1786, fueling speculation that he was poisoned. No evidence has yet been found which supports this claim. Lacking a head engineer, the Spanish Crown ordered that the building be auctioned at a price equivalent to one-fifth of the quantity thus far spent on its construction. After finding no buyers Viceroy Juan Vicente de Güemes Pacheco de Padilla y Horcasitas intended the building to house the General Archive of the Kingdom of the New Spain; that idea was not to come to fruition either despite already having the blueprints adapted for this purpose. German scientist Alexander von Humboldt visited the site in 1803 and condemned the Royal Treasury's sale of the palace's windows to raise funds for the Crown. The building was finally bought in 1806 by the municipal government of Mexico City.

Independence

Chapultepec Castle was abandoned during the

Mexican War of Independence The Mexican War of Independence (, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from the Spanish Empire. It was not a single, coherent event, but local and regional ...

(1810–1821) and for many years later, until 1833. In that year the building was decreed to become the location of the Military College (Military Academy) for cadet training; as a sequence of several structural modifications had to be done, including the addition of the watchtower known as ''Caballero Alto'' ("Tall Knight"). During the Battle of Chapultepec, Mexican troops stood strong and preferred to face death defending their country as opposed to surrendering to American forces. On September 13, 1847, the Niños Héroes ("Boy Heroes") died defending the castle while it was taken by United States forces during the Battle of Chapultepec of the Mexican–American War. They are honored with a large mural on the ceiling above the main entrance to the castle. The

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

honors its role in the Battle of Chapultepec and the subsequent occupation of Mexico City through the first line of the " Marines' Hymn", From the Halls of Montezuma. Marine Corps tradition maintains that the red stripe worn on the trousers of officers and noncommissioned officers, and commonly known as the blood stripe, commemorates the high number of Marine NCOs and officers killed storming the castle of Chapultepec in September 1847. As noted, the usage "Halls of Montezuma" is factually wrong - as the building was erected by the Spanish rulers of Mexico, more than three centuries after the Aztec Emperor Montezuma was overthrown. Several new rooms were built on the second floor of the palace during the tenure of President Miguel Miramón, who was also an alumnus of the Military Academy.

Second Mexican Empire

When Mexican conservatives invited Maximilian von Hapsburg to establish the Second Mexican Empire, the castle, now known as Castillo de Miravalle, became the residence of the emperor and his consort in 1864. The Emperor hired several

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an and Mexican architects to renovate the building for the royal couple, among them Julius Hofmann, Carl Gangolf Kayser, Carlos Schaffer, Eleuterio Méndez and Ramón Cruz Arango, The architects designed several projects, which followed a neoclassical style and made the palace more habitable as a royal residence. European architects Kayser and Hofmann worked on several other revival castles, including Neuschwanstein Castle – built by Maximilian's Wittelsbach cousin Ludwig II of Bavaria twenty years after Chapultepec's renovation.

Botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

Wilhelm Knechtel was in charge of creating the roof garden on the building. Additionally, the Emperor brought from

countless pieces of furniture, objets d'art and other fine household items that are exhibited to this day. At the time, as the castle was on the outskirts of Mexico City, Maximilian ordered the construction of a straight boulevard (modeled after the great boulevards of Europe, such as Vienna's Ringstrasse and the Champs-Élysées in Paris), to connect the Imperial residence with the city center. He named the new boulevard ''Paseo de la Emperatriz'' ("Promenade of the Empress") in honor of his wife Empress Carlota. Following the reestablishment of the Republic in 1867 by President Benito Juárez and the end of the civil war to oust the French invaders and defeat their Mexican conservative allies, the boulevard was renamed Paseo de la Reforma, after the Liberal reform.

Modern era to present

The castle fell into disuse after the fall of the Second Mexican Empire in 1867. In 1867, the explorer James F. Elton wrote the castle was not "surpassed in beauty in any part of the world." In 1876, a decree established it as an

Astronomical Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest include ...

, Meteorological and Magnetic

Observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Th ...

on the site, which was opened in 1878 during the presidency of Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada. However, the observatory was only functional for five years until they decided to move it to the former residence of the

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

in Tacubaya. The reason was to allow the return of the Colegio Militar to the premises as well as transforming the building into the presidential residence. The castle was given new life in 1882, when President Manuel González declared it the official residence of the President of Mexico. With few exceptions, all succeeding presidents lived there until 1934, when President

decided to move the official residence to Los Pinos, turning the castle into a museum in 1939. The palace underwent several structural changes under González and then during the later years of the presidency of

Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori (; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915) was a General (Mexico), Mexican general and politician who was the dictator of Mexico from 1876 until Mexican Revolution, his overthrow in 1911 seizing power in a Plan ...

(1876-1880; 1884-1911). When Díaz was overthrown at the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution it remained the presidential residence. Presidents Francisco I. Madero (1911–13), Venustiano Carranza (1915–20), Álvaro Obregón (1920–24), Plutarco Elías Calles (1924-28), Emilio Portes Gil, Pascual Ortiz Rubio and Abelardo Rodríguez all lived there during this time. It was then used for a time as an official guest house or residence for foreign dignitaries. Finally on February 3, 1939, President

decreed a law establishing Chapultepec Castle as the National Museum of History, with the collections of the former National Museum of Archaeology, History and Ethnography, (now the National Museum of Cultures). The museum was opened on September 27, 1944 during the presidency of Manuel Avila Camacho. President Cárdenas moved the official Mexican presidential residence to Los Pinos, and never lived in Chapultepec Castle. On 16 January 1992, the Chapultepec Peace Accords, which ended the Salvadoran civil war, were signed in the castle with the mediation of UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali. The treaty established peace between the Salvadoran government and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN). In addition to the then acting president Alfredo Cristiani and the leader of the FMLN Shafik Handal, the rebel general and later president of

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

Salvador Sánchez Cerén also signed the treaty. Planta baja - Castillo Chapultepec

In popular culture

*Chapultepec Castle has been used as a model of castle architecture to design buildings such as the 13th Regiment Armory (Sumner Armory), in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, US. *In the 1954 American western film '' Vera Cruz'' starring Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster, Chapultepec was portrayed using elaborate sets and decor. *In 1996, the castle was a film location for the Academy Award-nominated movie '' William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet'' starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. Many views of the castle as the Capulet Mansion can be seen throughout the film. *In the 2006 video game '' Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter'', a level exists in and around the castle. *A portion of the 2022 film '' Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths'' was also filmed at Chapultepec Castle.

Gallery

;Images of Chapultepec Castle and surroundings Castillo de chapultepcec.jpeg, View of the castle from afar Castillo-de-chapultepec.jpg, Another bird's-eye view of the castle File:Rejas del Castillo de Chapultepec.jpg, The front gates of the castle Castillo de Chapultepec (Chapulin).jpg, Front entrance, just beyond the gate Castillo de Chapultepec 001.jpg, Main entrance into the castle Image:Chapultepec Castle 500.JPG, Side entrance into the museum Image:Castillo de Chapultepec Int.jpg, Dining room Image:Malachite Room, Castillo de Chapultepec.jpg, The Malachite Room Image:Maximiliano's bedroom.jpg, The bedroom of Empress Carlota of Mexico Image:Beautiful stained glass hallway.jpg,

Stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

windows along a hallway Salón de Acuerdos. Castillo de Chapultepec.jpg, Cabinet room File:Chapultepec Castle - ovedc 60.jpg, Museum exhibit of viceregal dresses Jardines del Castillo de Chapultepec 4.jpg, Castle gardens Torre del Castillo de Chapultepec - panoramio.jpg, The Caballero Alto tower and observatory in the garden of the

Alcázar An ''alcázar'', from Arabic ''al-Qasr'', is a type of Islamic castle or palace in Spain built during Al-Andalus, Muslim rule between the 8th and 15th centuries. They functioned as homes and regional capitals for governmental figures throughout ...

Image:Castillo de Chapultepec B.jpg, Castle grounds Image:Castillo de Chapultepec Mirador.jpg, Statues of the Niños Héroes Image:Monumentoalosniñosheroes.jpg, Monument to the Niños Héroes. Chapultepec Castle can be seen in the background Image:Castillo Chapultepec Castle.jpg, View of the Empress's Guard from the slopes of the hill of Chapultepec, in the woods of the same name ;Historical paintings and drawings showing the castle File:Nebel Mexican War 11 Chapultepec Quitman (cropped).jpg, ''The American assault on the Chapultepec Castle'', 1847 by Nebel and Bayot File:Military College of Chapultepec2.jpg, Chapultepec Castle following the Battle of Chapultepec The Valley of Mexico from Chapultepec (Mexico City), 1850 Casimiro Castro.jpg, ''The Valley of Mexico from Chapultepec'', painting of 1850 by Casimiro Castro. Museo Soumaya. during the Mexican-American War, ca. 1847 by Nathaniel Currier.

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

. File:Le Tour du monde-05-p364.png, Chapultepec Castle just before the Second Mexican Empire, 1862 File:0ur Sister Republic - Chapultepec p.271.jpg, Chapultepec Castle in 1870 by Albert S. Evans. File:A trip to Mexico, being notes of a journey from Lake Erie to Lake Tezcuco and back, with an appendix, containing and being a paper about the ancient nations and races who inhabited Mexico before and (14784090803).jpg, Chapultepec Castle in 1880 by Henry Becher. University of California Libraries.

References

{{Coord, 19, 25, 14, N, 99, 10, 54, W, type:landmark_region:MX-DIF_source:eswiki, display=title Imperial residences in Mexico Palaces in Mexico Landmarks in Mexico City Buildings and structures in Mexico City Castles in Mexico Official residences in Mexico Mexican monarchy Museums in Mexico City Royal residences in Mexico 1785 establishments in New Spain Government buildings completed in 1864 Presidential residences Chapultepec Military history of Mexico City Second French intervention in Mexico