Palacio de los Reyes de Navarra, Estella, Medieval palace in Estella, Spain
The Palacio de los Reyes de Navarra is a Romanesque civic palace on Plaza de San Martín in Estella-Lizarra, Spain, built with two main floors of ashlar masonry and a third floor in brick. The facade is decorated with carved stone capitals, and the building today functions as a museum open to the public.
The palace was built in the second half of the 12th century as a Romanesque civic structure and served different purposes over the centuries, including as a prison from 1868 to 1954. It was then gradually restored and eventually converted into a museum.
The carved capitals on the front wall show scenes from the Legend of Roland, including the fight between Roland and the giant Ferragut. These reliefs are among the few surviving examples of Romanesque stone carving on a civic building in Spain.
The building stands on Plaza de San Martín in the center of Estella-Lizarra and is easy to reach on foot. Those who want to see both the exterior carvings and the collection inside should allow some extra time.
This building is one of only two surviving Romanesque civic structures in Navarre, making it a rare example of secular Romanesque architecture in the region. The other surviving structure is the Hórreo de Iracheta, which sits in a very different context.
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