Chapultepec Castle (Museo Nacional de Historia)
Hilltop castle above Chapultepec park housing Mexico's national history museum and imperial apartments.
Building on the Chapultepec hill began in 1785 as a summer residence for the viceroy Bernardo de Gálvez. The unfinished structure later served as a military academy, and in 1847 it was defended against United States troops by the cadets remembered as the Niños Héroes. Maximilian and Carlota adapted it as an imperial residence in the 1860s, laying out the rooftop garden and the carriage-way now called Paseo de la Reforma. Later presidents used it as an official residence until Lázaro Cárdenas transferred it for museum use.
The Museo Nacional de Historia opened in the castle on 27 September 1944. Its galleries trace Mexican history from the Spanish conquest to the Revolution, through paintings, arms, flags, documents, furniture, carriages and costume. The Alcázar on the upper floor preserves the nineteenth-century apartments with their fittings and terrace views over the city. Murals commissioned for the building include works by Juan O'Gorman, David Alfaro Siqueiros and José Clemente Orozco. Concerts and lectures are held in the auditorium and Alcázar courtyard.
Highlights
- Alcázar apartments furnished for Maximilian and Carlota
- Murals by Juan O'Gorman, Siqueiros and Orozco
- Rooftop garden and terraces overlooking Chapultepec
- Collections of carriages, arms, flags and historical painting
![[King Thibaw Min's Throne Room - Mandalay]title QS:P1476,en:"[King Thibaw Min's Throne Room - Mandalay]"label QS:Len,"[King Thibaw Min's Throne Room - Mandalay]"](https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/02/Felice_Beato_%28British%2C_born_Italy_-_%28King_Thibaw_Min%27s_Throne_Room_-_Mandalay%29_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg/500px-Felice_Beato_%28British%2C_born_Italy_-_%28King_Thibaw_Min%27s_Throne_Room_-_Mandalay%29_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg)
