The Royal Palace of Tétouan is a palace of the Moroccan Monarchy in

Tétouan Tétouan (, or ) 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 south of the Strait of Gibraltar, and about E.S.E. of Tangier. In the 2014 Morocc ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

, and the former main seat of political authority of the

Spanish protectorate in Morocco The Spanish protectorate in Morocco 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 protectorate. The Spanish protectorate consisted of a norther ...

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 a list of rulers of Morocco since 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 Morocco is Mohammed VI of Morocco, Mohammed ...

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 Scotti ...

Square, a historic urban space also traditionally known as the , in the

Medina of Tétouan Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

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 Hispano-Moroccan War (1859–60), War of Tetuan on April 26, 1860, at Wad Ras, located between Tétouan, Tetuan and Tangier. The conditions of the ...

that concluded the Hispano-Moroccan War (1859–1860), which also stipulated that a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

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 (). 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 (). 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 milit ...

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 Hassan II Hassan II (; 9 July 1929 – 23 July 1999) was King of Morocco from 1961 until his death in 1999. A member of the Alawi dynasty, he was the eldest son of King Mohammed V of Morocco, Mohammed V, and his second wife Princess Lalla Abla ...

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

References

{{coord, 35.5709, -5.3681, format=dms, type:landmark_region:MA, display=title Palaces in Morocco 'Alawi architecture Royal residences in Morocco Tétouan

History

Palace of the Governor, then of the Khalifa

Spanish Consulate, then High Commissariate

Royal Palace

See also

References