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The Orleans and Bourbon Palace in Sanlúcar de Barrameda was built between 1853 and 1870. It served as the summer residence of the Infantes of Spain and the Dukes of Montpensier, Antonio of Orleans and María Luisa Fernanda of Bourbon. They acquired three estates in the Barrio Alto: the conciliar Seminary of San Francisco Javier, the Páez de la Cadena family house, and the ruined cloisters of the Convent of Mercy.
The architects tasked with rehabilitating these estates for the palace were Juan de Talavera and Balbino Marrón. At the end of the 19th century, it was refurbished by Juan Antonio Arévalo Martínez. A true architectural whim of the era, where exquisiteness and elegance were not lacking.
It was inhabited by the Orleans and Bourbon family until 1955. In 1971 it was sold to be demolished, but eight years later, it was acquired and restored by the Sanlúcar de Barrameda City Council.
Today it is the seat of the City Hall of the city.
It consists of two parts: the seminary and the Páez de la Cadena house. Each is organised around a central courtyard. A residential complex formed by a compact three-storey body, detached pavilion-type lodgings, and garden areas around it.
Its colourful and exterior decoration catches the visitor's attention. It features historicist and eclectic styles prominently. Its façade used the neo-Mudéjar style in addition to Italian classicism. Its interior rooms are decorated with a variety of historicist styles, such as neo-Mudéjar, English, Egyptian, Rococo, or Chinese.
The gardens of this palace were designed by the French gardener Lecolant. Originally, it was an English-style garden, aimed at creating a natural and wild appearance. Different tree species and plants are combined, most of them of tropical origin and large size. Notable are the colony of dragon trees, Judas trees, Chinese orange trees, or cypresses.
On December 19, 2007, it was registered in the General Catalogue of Andalusian Historical Heritage.
Built: 1853 - 1870.
Author: J. Talavera de la Vega, B. Marrón y A. A. Martínez
Style: Eclecticism, Historicist, Neo-Mudéjar
Category: Civil
Type: Palace
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The Castle of Santiago in Sanlúcar de Barrameda is located in the Cava del Castillo of Barrio Alto, at the northeast corner of the ancient citadel that existed in the times of Guzmán el Bueno - the first Lord of Sanlúcar. Right at the edge of the escarpment that divides the town into two levels.
It was built by the House of Medina Sidonia between 1477 and 1478, thanks to Enrique Pérez de Guzmán and Meneses - II Duke of Medina Sidonia and VII Lord of Sanlúcar. A large and imposing fortress to defend the bank and mouth of the Guadalquivir.
It was the first place where the Dukes of Medina Sidonia lived in this locality. Throughout its history, it was used as barracks, a prison, and a hospital.
The town of Sanlúcar came under the jurisdiction of Jerez in 1264. But it was granted to Don Alfonso Pérez Guzmán by Sancho IV, in reward for his heroism defending the plaza of Tarifa. Since then, the urban ensemble was organized around the ancient Muslim primitive castle of the Seven Towers.
Guzmán el Bueno ordered the construction of enclosures and walls at the end of the 13th century and the beginning of the 14th century. And the Castle of Santiago was finally built between 1477 and 1478.
Its layout is quadrangular, with a central courtyard. At its corners, it is defended by quadrangular towers and semicylindrical towers at the centres of the curtains. The ensemble is protected by a first line of defence consisting of a crenellated barbican with semicylindrical towers at the curtains.
It was the lodging of the Catholic Monarchs the same year it was built. The Keep Tower stands out at the north vertex with a hexagonal layout, said to be the place from where Queen Isabella the Catholic first saw the sea. It was armed from its construction until the beginning of the 18th century when it lost defensive importance due to the constant river retreats.
At the end of the same century, it was threatened with ruin, suffering several renovations and transformations during the 19th century. It served as accommodation for French troops during the War of Independence.
