The Royal Palace of Tétouan is a palace of the Moroccan Monarchy in Tétouan, Morocco, and the former main seat of political authority of the Spanish protectorate in Morocco from 1913 to 1956. It encloses both the former governor's palace and the former Spanish consulate, which in the protectorate era respectively housed the Khalifa or personal representative of the Sultan of Morocco on the compound's northwestern side, and the Spanish High Commissioner on its southeastern side. The palace is located on Hassan II Square, a historic urban space also traditionally known as the , in the Medina of Tétouan.
History
Palace of the Governor, then of the Khalifa
The compound's oldest building was constructed around 1740 as the local Government Palace (Dar al-Emrat). In 1913 it became the seat of the Khalifa, namely until his death in 1923, then his son Hassan Ben el Mehedi Ben Ismael until the protectorate's end in 1956. It was remodeled several times, including in 1947 on a design by painter .
Spanish Consulate, then High Commissariate
The Spanish Consulate in Tétouan was established following the Treaty of Wad Ras that concluded the Hispano-Moroccan War (1859–1860), which also stipulated that a Franciscan mission be created in the town. The consulate's main building was designed by Coronel Gelis of the Spanish Corps of Engineers and built between 1861 and 1864. The adjacent Franciscan church was completed in 1866. In 1913, the consulate building became the residence of the High Commissioner of the newly created Spanish protectorate in Morocco, also known as the High Commissariate (). It was subsequently remodeled in the mid-1910s by Tétouan municipal architect , who added the two circular towers that frame the building's western façade. In 1926, the Franciscan mission moved away from the compound and relocated to the newly built church of in the Spanish colonial expansion of the city (). The interiors of the High Commissioner's residence were again remodeled in the late 1940s by High Commissioner José Enrique Varela.
Royal Palace
The complex was repurposed as a Royal palace following Morocco's independence in 1956 and its proclamation as a kingdom on . It was refurbished under King Hassan II by designer . In 1988, the Feddan was remodeled and a wall and monumental gate were erected, thus isolating the former High Commissioner's residence from public view. The palace is not open to the public.
See also Mendoubia, the former seat of the Mendoub, Tangier's counterpart to Tétouan's Khalifa French Protectorate Residence, Rabat List of Moroccan royal residences
References