Hall of Realms of the Buen Retiro Palace

This is the most characteristic building, along with the Casón del Buen Retiro, that survives today from the great palatial complex of the Royal Site and Palace of Buen Retiro. It was built between 1630 and 1635 and housed the finest paintings, most of which are now in the Prado Museum. The Hall owes its name to the fact that it displayed the coats of arms of the twenty-four kingdoms that made up the Hispanic Monarchy during the reign of Philip IV.

Initially, it was conceived as a box from which the monarchs could attend theatrical performances held in the courtyard, but when the decision was made to transform Buen Retiro into a true palace, the function of a throne room was added. Well-lit by numerous windows and decorated with jasper tables adorned with silver lions, the vaulted ceiling is frescoed with gilded grotesques. Furthermore, its walls were adorned with pictorial decoration brimming with political symbolism, whose ultimate goal was the exaltation of King Philip IV. The Hall of Realms housed the Army Museum from 1884, now relocated with its collection to the Alcázar of Toledo, in order to recover its former ornamental splendor and be incorporated into the expansion of the Prado Museum, to which it has belonged since 2015. Currently, the building is closed to the public while renovation work is carried out inside. Following the approval by the Council of Ministers of the line of credit for the rehabilitation and museum adaptation of the Hall of Realms of the Prado National Museum, the Madrid art gallery and the Madrid City Council signed an agreement in October 2021 to work together to achieve urban and technical integration of the Hall of Realms with the other buildings that make up the Prado campus. Prado Museum. To this end, the immediate surroundings of the Hall of Realms will be redeveloped, including an underground tunnel connecting the Museum's facilities and maintenance between the south façade of the Hall of Realms and the north façade of the Casón del Buen Retiro, as well as the north staircase and the south staircase and ramp providing access to the renovated building. The freestanding sculptures currently located on the north terrace of the Hall of Realms building will also be restored; two of these sculptures belong to the Madrid City Council. The works are expected to be completed by the second half of 2027.