Middle Ages The palace has its origins in the ‘Porxo del Forment’, a wheat warehouse constructed in 1314. Next to it, a cloth market was built in 1389, which was also known as the ‘Hala dels Draps’. The buildings were merged in 1514 and a floor was added to the building which served as an arsenal.
Palace of the Viceroy King Philip IV confiscated the building in 1652 and purposed it to serve as the new residence of the
Viceroy of Catalonia (also known as Lieutenant) moving from the
Palau del Lloctinent. By order of Viceroy
Vicente Gonzaga Doria a new palace was constructed between 1668 and 1688. The architect was
Josep de la Concepció, a Carmelite friar, who designed a
baroque building. The palace had a quadrangular plan with a central courtyard, three levels with balconies and a facade with Gothic elements. Of the interior, the main hall, called Sala de Festes, stood out, with a rectangular floor plan and two floors high. In 1700, by initiative of viceroy
Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt a connection was added to the
Santa Maria del Mar church. During the
War of the Spanish Succession Archduke Charles of Habsburg was installed as king of Spain in the building in 1705. Three years later, he married
Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in the Santa Maria del Mar in 1708. They resided in the palace until 1711, when they left for
Vienna in
Austria. With the
Nueva Planta decrees the office of the viceroy was abolished, and the palace became the residence of the
Captain General of Catalonia. The palace got a façade in a neoclassical style in 1771, designed by the architect Juan Miguel de Roncali.
Royal Palace The palace became the royal palace in 1844, when the Captain General moved his residence to a former convent. During this time, the palace was reconstructed in
neo-Gothic style. During the various visits to Barcelona the Spanish royal family stayed in the palace. During the
First Spanish Republic it was the seat of a court. The palace was destroyed by a fire in 1875 and was not rebuilt. It was not until 1919, that a new royal residence was erected in Barcelona, the
Palau Reial de Pedralbes. The current royal residence in Barcelona is the
Palace of Albéniz in the
Joan Maragall Gardens on the
Montjuïc mountain, which was designed for the
1929 International Exposition in the exhibition site itself. ==Bibliography==