Top Attractions

Santa Cruz Palace

Santa Cruz Palace of Madrid The Santa Cruz Palace or Palace of Holy Cross is a baroque building in the center of Madrid. It now houses the foreign ministry or "Asuntos Exteriores". It was used as a jail until the reign of Philip IV of Spain, when it was converted into a palace.

It was built between 1629 and 1643 by Juan Bautista Crescendi. The palace originally served as the royal prison. Many waited here for the verdict of the infamous Spanish Inquisition. For most of them the next step was execution at the Plaza Mayor. Later other architects like José de Villareal or Bartolomé Hurtado García added elements.

The palace, inspired by the classic Italian and Spanish architecture, is rectangular, has two symmetrical interior square yards, in addition to organizing space, allowing ventilation and natural light to enter, being separated by a central axis that makes both distributor and access to the building.

In 1767 it changed from jail to the Palacio de Santa Cruz, due to its proximity to the church of Santa Cruz. A fire in 1791, destroyed all but the facade.


Directions:

       Plaza de la Provincia, 1
       28012 Madrid

Subway transportation:
    * Line 2 - Sol station.