Map - Palace of Queluz (Queluz National Palace)

The Palace of Queluz (Palácio de Queluz, ) is an 18th-century palace located at Queluz, a city of the Sintra Municipality, in the Lisbon District, on the Portuguese Riviera. One of the last great Rococo buildings to be designed in Europe, the palace was conceived as a summer retreat for King José I's brother, Pedro of Braganza, later to become husband and king jure uxoris (as King Pedro III) to his own niece, Queen Maria I. It eventually served as a discreet place of incarceration for Maria I, when she became afflicted by severe mental illness in the years following Pedro III's death in 1786. Following the destruction of Ajuda Palace by fire in 1794, Queluz Palace became the official residence of the Portuguese Prince Regent João, and his family, and remained so until the royal family fled to the Portuguese colony of Brazil in 1807, following the French invasion of Portugal.

Work on the palace began in 1747 under Portuguese architect Mateus Vicente de Oliveira. Despite being far smaller, the palace is often referred to as the "Portuguese Versailles." From 1826, the palace slowly fell from favour with the Portuguese sovereigns. In 1908, it became the property of the state. Following a serious fire in 1934, which gutted one-third of the interior, the palace was extensively restored, and today is open to the public as a major tourist attraction.

One wing of the palace, called the Queen Maria I Pavilion, built by Manuel Caetano de Sousa, is currently used as Portugal's official state guest house, allocated to foreign heads of state.

Queluz's architecture is representative of an extravagant period of Portuguese culture, which followed the discovery of Brazilian gold in 1690. From the beginning of the 18th century, many foreign artists and architects were employed in Portugal to satisfy the demands of the newly enriched aristocracy; they brought with them classical ideas of architecture which derived from the Renaissance. In its design, Queluz is a revolt against the earlier, heavier, Italian-influenced Baroque, which preceded the Rococo style throughout Europe.

Comparisons with the far larger, and more Baroque, Versailles are unwarranted; Versailles is referred to as having "an aura of majesty" and was built and dedicated to exhibit in stone "all the glories of France," whereas the smaller palace at Queluz has been described as "exquisite rather than magnificent" and looking like "a very expensive birthday cake". In its frivolity, the architecture of Queluz reflects the lifestyle led by the Portuguese royal family at the time of its construction; during the reign of Pedro of Braganza's brother, José I. At this time, Portugal was, in practice, governed by a valido—or favourite—the Marquis of Pombal. Pombal encouraged the royal family to while away their days in the country and leave affairs of state to him. Thus, the extravagant, almost whimsical, architecture of Queluz is so set apart from that of nearby Portuguese capital, Lisbon; representing the politics and social events during this era, as well as the carefree and flamboyant lives led by its occupants. Queluz's role as a haven for those without responsibility was, however, to be short-lived.

On the accession to the throne of Queen Maria I in 1777, Pombal was dismissed by the new Queen. She and Pedro III ruled jointly in his place; using the partially completed Queluz as a retreat from affairs of state in much the same way that Frederick the Great used his own famed Rococo palace, Sanssouci.

The site chosen for the proposed summer retreat was in a secluded hollow. It had originally been owned by the Marquis of Castelo Rodrigo. When the ruling Spanish were driven from Portugal in 1640, the Marquis was accused of having collaborated with the Spanish and the property was seized by the Portuguese Crown. The estate, and its hunting lodge, then became one of the many properties of the Portuguese king, João IV. He set it aside as one of the properties reserved for the second son of the reigning monarch. Thus it came into the hands of Pedro of Braganza, the second son of João V.

The architect Mateus Vicente de Oliveira had trained under Ludovice of Ratisbon and Jean-Baptiste Robillon during the construction of the royal Palace of Mafra and its monastery. The larger, sombre, and classical Mafra does not appear to have influenced the design for Queluz, which is in a lighter, more airy style.

Work began in 1747, and continued rapidly until 1755, when it was interrupted by the Great earthquake of 1755, after which the labourers were more urgently required for the reconstruction of Lisbon. However, the earthquake proved to be a catalyst, as the urban rebuilding process stimulated the development of the arts in Portugal. The subsequent architecture of Queluz was influenced by new ideas and concepts. When work recommenced in 1758, the design was readapted for fear of another earthquake. Thus, later work on the palace took the form of low, long buildings that are more structurally stable than a single high block. As a result, when viewed from a distance, the palace resembles a series of long enfilades linked by higher pavilions, rather than one single construction.