National Palace of Ajuda

The Ajuda National Palace was declared National Monument under a governmental Decree dated 16th June 1910. During the first decades of the Republican regime it depended on the Public Treasury and remained the stage of official ceremonies and host of visitors allowed by the Treasury.
In 1968 it opened to the public as a house-museum and since the eighties has grown to be an outstanding museological institution within both national and international scenes. From the eighties on, a reconstitution, as accurate as possible, of this royal residence was started, on the basis of rigorous historical research. In 1996, the program "One Room, One Patron" was introduced, which aimed to recover the palace back to the decorations and settings from the time of D. Luís. Since then, nine rooms have been refurbished under the patronage of private institutions. Currently the Ajuda Palace building is not merely the former royal residence. The north wing of the palace houses the Ajuda Library (former royal library), the Painting Gallery of King Luís I (designed for the presentation of paintings from the sovereign’s private collection and currently under the direct management of the General Directorate for Cultural Heritage) and the State Secretary for Culture. The fourth floor of the south wing houses the General Directorate for Cultural Heritage. A dignifying scenario for the official State ceremonies, the Ajuda Palace has always played such a role from the earliest times to the present day. It is as such that the Ajuda National Palace still lends its glamour to the ceremonies of the Presidency of the Republic, in addition to being one of the most important museums of decorative arts in the country.