The private palace of Enrique IV of Castile

The Palacio de Enrique IV, also known as the Palacio de San Martín, was commissioned by Enrique IV of Castile in the San Martín neighborhood of Segovia. The construction follows the urban palace style of the 15th century with a typical Mudejar character. The complex occupied an area of approximately 6,000 square metres, organized into several interconnected and independent palaces, primarily those of the King and the Queen.

While chronicles from the time suggest the King and his wife Doña Juana lived there by 1467, the official seat of government remained at the Alcázar de Segovia. Recent studies indicate the Palacio de San Martín had a more private and marginal use, never becoming the main seat of the court. Following the death of Enrique IV in 1474, Isabel I of Castile also kept her official residence at the Alcázar, where she signed significant documents like the Concordia de Segovia in 1475.

By 1510, the property was divided between three families: the Mercado, the Barros, and the Porras y Bracamonte. The part corresponding to the palace of the queen served as the headquarters of the Holy Inquisition before passing to the Mercado-Peñalosa family around 1600. In 1836, the building housed the Escuela Especial de Nobles Artes, and its chapel served as a provincial library. In the 1960s, the building fell into decay before being converted into a museum.

Today, very few remains of the original complex are preserved, though the Mercado-Peñalosa section retains important Mudejar plasterwork and coats of arms of Castile and Portugal. The space features a courtyard with toledan-style pillars, a medieval staircase, and chambers with polychrome beams. Since 1998, the building has housed the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Esteban Vicente.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons