Palacio de Miramar

The Palacio de Miramar (or Palacio Municipal de Miramar or Palacio Real) in San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa, Spain, is a palace built in the English style. It was designed by English architect Ralph Selden Wornum in 1889 and commissioned by the Spanish Royal House, who then had José Goicoa construct it in 1893. With its prime position overlooking La Concha Bay, it is arguably the best place to take in the city's sights.

Isabel II, beginning in the middle of the nineteenth century, established a summer residence at San Sebastian so that she might enjoy the city's proximity to the Cantabrian Sea. This began a relationship with the city that would be furthered by Queen Mara Cristina, wife of Alfonso XII, who, upon becoming a widow, decided to relocate the Court's summer holidays to San Sebastián, therefore determining the city's fate as a tourist destination. Queen Maria Cristina had the English architect Selden Wornum construct a Royal Country House for the royal family to occupy during their summer vacations. The Queen obtained the large estate fronting La Concha Bay from the Count of Moriana and there she built her palace. Previously the location of the Monastery of San Sebastián El Antiguo, it had been abandoned for centuries. The church of El Antiguo, which was located on adjoining state property and had to be relocated, and a few additional, smaller properties were acquired to extend the estate. Even though construction on the palace was finished in 1893, a new structure, the Prince's Pavilion, was built in 1920. To accommodate the San Sebastián Tramway Company's trams and the road, which the palace gardens cross over, a false tunnel was built during construction of the palace.

After Queen Maria Cristina's death in 1929, the estate passed to King Alfonso XIII, who had it expropriated by the state in 1931 with the start of the Second Republic. In 1933, it was transferred to the San Sebastián City Council with the stipulation that it be used as a summer residence for the President of the Republic and that part of its premises be used for educational and cultural purposes.

After the fall of the Franco regime and its subsequent return to the Spanish Royal Household, the palace remained in the hands of Alfonso XIII's sons, and more specifically Juan de Borbón. In 1958, the condominium above the palace was formally terminated. Don Juan thereby preserved the palace and its immediate environs, dividing a 1000 m2 plot that was auctioned in 1963. Don Juan's brothers purchased the remaining portion of the land in 1963 and divided it into two building lots measuring 10,000 and 37,000 square metres.

The original estate's size was about 80,000 square metres, but after the condo was dissolved, it was reduced to 34,136 square metres and purchased from Don Juan by the San Sebastian Town Council in 1972. As a result, the former Royal Palace of Miramar is now known as the Municipal Palace.

As of right now, visitors can roam the palace's gardens and grounds during open hours. This building serves as the administrative hub for the University of the Basque Country's Summer Sessions. Formerly the home of Musikene, the Higher Music Centre of the Basque Country, it ceased operations at the end of the 2015–2016 school year.

The Miramar Palace was built in an authentically English design with neo-Gothic flourishes. The White Room, Music Room, Wooden Room, Petit Salon, Library, and Royal Dining Room are just few of the opulent interior spaces that have been preserved in their original layouts. Since the City Council bought the palace, it has undergone a series of renovations that have made it more usable, if still rather rundown. In 2001, construction stopped in order to construct schools for Musikene, for whom the site was named. Following this, in 2007, the tower of the structure was renovated.

However, the palace's exterior has been preserved, and it is standard practise to host festivals there, particularly those associated with the San Sebastian Film Festival, amid its gardens and noble areas.

Article obtained from Wikipedia article Wikipedia in his version of 20/10/2022, by various authors under the license Licencia de Documentación Libre GNU.

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