Standing on one of the peaks of the Serra de Sintra, the heart of a park of 200 hectares of the town of Sintra in Portugal , Pena Palace is characterized by its architectural eclecticism and bright colors , yellow and red. This magnificent monument is the first romantic palace in Europe , whose construction began for example 30 years before the commencement of work of the castle which is often cited as the first expression of romanticism in architecture: Neuschwanstein in Bavaria.

This is due to Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg - Gotha - regent - original German and Portuguese adoption following its alliance with the Queen Maria II.

In 1839, after buying the ruins of a monastery Jeronymite the fifteenth century, it even says sovereign building his summer palace of Baron Ludwig von Eschwege . It mixes up the architectural styles - Moorish , Gothic, Renaissance and Manueline - to deliver a building exuberant and colorful , but nevertheless maintains some parts of the old monastery .

The construction , which began in mid-nineteenth century , was not completed until 1885 , the year of the king's death .

After the proclamation of the Republic in 1910 , the building became the property of the state, is kept as is and open to the public.

One enters the Palace through a Moorish gate leading to a courtyard ; in it , one can not miss the arc of newt, decorated with neo- Manueline details.

Inside the palace is divided into different rooms, one of a kind . Arab room , as its name suggests, and has frescoes and other ornaments inspired by the Orient. Ballroom mixture , meanwhile , elements of oriental decoration Prussian windows .

The cloister and the chapel show , for their part, the Manueline style .

The different balconies offer panoramic views of the Atlantic coast and the Tagus River.

(from : http://fr.wikipedia.org/)