The Gaudí Palace of Astorga inaugurates a new exclusive visit that will be available from May 1, 2024. “The Hidden Palace” is an opportunity to discover areas of the Palace that have not previously been shown to the public in a visit that begins with access in a panoramic elevator to the highest level of the monument.
The inauguration was attended by civil, religious and military authorities such as the bishop of Astorga, Jesús Fernández, the mayor of Astorga, José Luis Nieto, the sub-delegate of the Government, Faustino Sánchez, the deputies Carolina Arias and Sara Fernández, and Amelia Biaín, head of the Territorial Service of Culture and Tourism of the Junta de Castilla y León, and the mayor of Ponferrada, Marco Morala, among others.
History
When Gaudí designed the plans for the construction of the Episcopal Palace of Astorga, he left a hole in the staircase of the north tower for the installation of an elevator, which would have been one of the first in Spain. Due to the hasty departure of the architect, it was discarded in the project to complete the building.
In 2013, on the occasion of the centenary of the completion of the construction of the monument, an agreement was signed between the Bishopric and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Junta de Castilla y León for the realization of the cultural project “El Palacio Escondido”, signed by the Councilor for Culture and Tourism, Alicia García Rodríguez, and Bishop Camilo Lorenzo. The original pavement of the terraces was recovered, formed by large granite slabs, as well as the gutters of the same material. During the second phase, it was determined that the most necessary works were the reform of the interior spaces on the ground and second floors; the repair of the cracks in the vaults and vertical walls of the throne room; the placement of an elevator in the space occupied by the unfinished service staircase on the north side of the entrance hall; the construction of a direct access to the under-deck or sotabanco, extending the helicoidal staircase from the north tower to the tower and from there to the terrace and the under-deck, thus being able to communicate with the other terraces through the space of the sotabanco, which has four loopholes (one to each terrace).
In 2015 the Ministry of Public Works granted a budget item for tasks of “Restoration and architectural recovery of the constructive systems of the Episcopal Palace of Astorga”, inaugurated by the newly arrived bishop Juan Antonio Menéndez. These works overlapped with those corresponding to the cultural project “El Palacio Escondido” (The Hidden Palace). The latter were inaugurated by the Councilor for Culture and Tourism, María Josefa García Cirac, on March 23, 2017, and the former on the following June 20.
In 2019 the Heritage Commission approved the restoration of what remained of the envelope of the Palace, that is, the roofs and turrets with slate, carried out according to the project of the architect Virginia González. This work was necessary since the roofs were still the original Guereta roofs. The work began in early November, with the removal of the slate tiles and lead linings of the crowning, the installation of new tiles of the same dimensions and characteristics, as well as the repair of the weather vanes of the three towers. The same actions were carried out on the main roof.
Installation of the Hidden Palace
Both the change of the roof and the complete installation of the elevator were carried out with the monument’s own resources. After the pertinent arrangements of the visitable spaces, the installation of a panoramic and glazed elevator that gives access to the last level of the monument was carried out. A project that has involved the installation of the necessary systems for a modern elevator and that does not break with the neo-Gothic aesthetics of the building designed by Antonio Gaudí for Astorga.
At the end of the elevator, there is an access to the four terraces of the Gaudí Palace from which you can see the tops and chimneys that crown the building, as well as the apse of the Cathedral of Astorga and other points of the bimillenary city. The visit also includes a tour of the restored undercroft where you can see how Ricardo García Guereta completed the project designed and initiated by Antonio Gaudí in 1889.
The opening of the Hidden Palace marks the beginning of a new era for the Gaudí Palace. From May 1, all those who wish to do so will be able to discover a new palace, a space that has been hidden until now and that is now part of the monument of Astorga in the form of a new visit.
The Hidden Palace and the Gaudi Palace are open daily from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. from May to October; and from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. from November to April.