Museo de Carruajes, Royal carriage museum in Campo del Moro gardens, Madrid, Spain
The Museo de Carruajes is a museum belonging to the Royal Palace of Madrid that holds a collection of court carriages and ceremonial vehicles once owned by Spanish kings and queens. The building, designed in the 1960s by architect Ramón Andrada, sits inside the Campo del Moro park and has a modular structure with hexagonal forms.
The collection traces back to the Royal Stables founded under King Felipe II in the 16th century, which remained in use for several centuries before being demolished in the early 1900s. To save the vehicles, a museum was created and opened in its current building in 1967.
The carriages in the collection were used for official ceremonies of the Spanish monarchy, from state visits to royal weddings. Looking at them gives a sense of how much care went into staging those public appearances.
The museum has been closed to visitors since 1990, as the collection is set to move to a new location. It is worth checking for updates before planning a visit to Madrid with this site in mind.
The collection includes a portable chair belonging to Emperor Charles I, showing that royal travel did not always mean a carriage. This chair was carried by attendants and allowed the emperor to move through terrain where wheeled vehicles could not go.
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