Real Alcázar – Pedro I Palace: Patio de las Doncellas (Courtyard of the Maidens)

Patio de las Doncellas in the Royal Alcázar of Seville, Spain

Patio de las Doncellas (Courtyard of the Maidens)

Patio de las Doncellas
The Patio de las Doncellas (Courtyard of the Maidens) is a rectangular courtyard with ornate corridors on all four sides. In the middle of the courtyard is a pool flanked by sunken garden with trees that include the famous orange trees of Seville.

Legend has it that the sultan of Cordoba demanded 100 virgins every year as a tribute from the Christian kings of the Iberian Peninsula. This courtyard owns its name to the maidens in the legend.

This courtyard resembles many open courtyards in the Alhambra and Generalife in Granada. For example, Court of the Myrtles in the Nasrid Palaces, Patio de la Acequia (Court of the Irrigation Canal) in the Generalife. This is because King Pedro I loved Moorish architecture and decoration and had a cordial relationship with the Nasrids, who sent master craftsmen to help build and decorate the palace.

The courtyard was built by King Don Pedro (a.k.a Peter the Cruel) and the upper gallery was a later addition built by Charles V.

Other Patio de las Doncellas Images
Patio de las Doncellas (Courtyard of the Maidens)
Ceiling of a corridor
Sunken Garden

Related Pages and Posts
Seville Cathedral: An awe-inspiring architectural marvel
Sala Capitular – The Chapter House of the Seville Cathedral
Sacristía Mayor – The Main Sacristy of the Seville Cathedral
La Giralda: A harmonious blend of Moorish and Renaissance architectural styles
Las Setas of Seville – A modern artistic structure in a historical city

Copyright © 2020 – 2022 by YatrikaOne. All rights reserved.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Translate »

You cannot copy content of this page

%d bloggers like this: