The Palacio de la Real Audiencia de Santiago (English: ''Royal Court Palace or Palace of the Boxes'') is a building located on the

Plaza de Armas ''Plaza de armas'' (pl. ; literally ''arms square'' or ''place-of-arms'') is a Spanish language, Spanish term commonly used to refer to town square, town squares in Latin America, Spain and the Philippines, as well as a name commonly given to th ...

Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

. The building dates back to 1808 and houses, since 1982, the National History Museum of Chile. The building was built between 1804 and 1807 to serve as the home for the royal courts of justice. It was the work of Juan Goycolea, a pupil and disciple of the Italian-born Joaquin Toesca who had designed the nearby La Moneda Palace and the east facade of the Cathedral during the last two decades of the 18th century. The courts were there for two years until Chile's first government junta, in 1810, assembled to replace the Spanish governor. Eight years later the

Chilean Declaration of Independence The Chilean Declaration of Independence is a document declaring the independence of Chile from the Spanish Empire. It was drafted in January 1818 and approved by Supreme Director Bernardo O'Higgins on 12 February 1818 at Talca, despite being ...

was solidified and the building served as the first meeting place for the new congress. It served as the seat of government until 1846, until President

Manuel Bulnes Manuel Bulnes Prieto (; December 25, 1799 – October 18, 1866) was a Chilean military and political figure who was President of Chile from 1841 to 1851. Born in Concepción, he served as the president of Chile between 1841 and 1851. At the ...

moved to

La Moneda Palace Palacio de La Moneda (, ''Palace of the Mint''), or simply La Moneda, is the seat of the president of the Republic of Chile. It also houses the offices of three cabinet ministers: Interior, General Secretariat of the Presidency, and General S ...

Chilean National History Museum

The Chilean National History Museum ( or ) is located in the Palacio de la Real Audiencia de Santiago in

. The institution was founded on May 2, 1911,The English Visitor's Guide and consists of the former palace's old rooms used as exhibition spaces. The collection consists of everyday life objects from Chile such as women's clothing, sewing machines, furniture, and other decorative and functional pieces.

References

External links

Official National History Museum website

{{coord, 33, 26, 13, S, 70, 39, 2, W, source:eswiki_type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures in Santiago, Chile National Monuments of Chile Palaces in Chile