Parques de Sintra restores the Princes’ Kitchen Garden at the National Palace of Queluz

In the gardens of the National Palace of Queluz, restoration works have begun on the Princes’ Kitchen Garden, aiming to restore not only the historical and formal coherence of the space but also its contemplative, educational, and representational functions. The Princes’ Kitchen Garden forms an integral part of the Grove — an essential element of the Queluz Baroque garden — whose authenticity will be reinforced through this intervention.

João Sousa Rego, Chairman of the Board of Parques de Sintra, emphasises: “For a distinctive cultural and tourist experience, we want visitors to the National Palace of Queluz to feel and understand the essence of its 18th-century French-style gardens, which have undergone changes over time. The interventions carried out in this space aim to restore its original characteristics, and the Princes’ Kitchen Garden is no exception. The restoration project was developed by a multidisciplinary team comprising historians, landscape architects, and conservation-restoration specialists, who dedicated themselves to understanding and safeguarding this heritage, contributing to its valorisation and sustainability.”

The ongoing works include the installation of a yellow granite cinder floor stabilised with hydraulic lime, a material historically used in the Palace of Queluz gardens in the 18th century. The works also include the restoration of the irrigation channel, reinstating the original layout using traditional materials. In addition, the stone and tile components of the planters will be restored, with the replacement of incongruous elements, filling of glazed gaps, and chromatic reintegration, as well as the conservation of the mural painting present in one of the planters. Ashlar stone elements, such as the pond, the bench and the decorative coat of arms, will also be conserved.

The intervention, with an estimated duration of six months, represents an investment of approximately €234,000 and complements the conservation and restoration works carried out in 2023 on the tiles and stone decorative elements, namely the planters, raised beds, and benches.

A space for learning and a love of nature

Situated in the largest section of the Grove, next to the Hanging Garden, the Princes’ Kitchen Garden covers an area of approximately 1,620 m². The Portuguese term Bosquete, translated as Grove in English, derives from the French bosquet (itself from the Italian bosquetto) and refers to a small wooded area, which was an essential element in the design of 18th-century French-style gardens. Groves were considered the greatest ornament of such gardens because they emphasised the flat areas — the parterres and ponds — while controlling the perspective effect through the extension of the main axes and the park’s alleys.

The Princes’ Kitchen Garden is a relatively late addition, dating from the late 19th century, intended for the cultivation of both common and exotic vegetables, alongside flowers, aromatic plants, and boxwood beds. It is believed that this area was used in the education of the young princes, fostering their love of nature — so highly valued by the Royal Family — as well as the study of Botany and Natural History. The layout of the garden reflects the ideal organisation proposed by Jean de La Quintinie in the 1695 treatise Le Parfait Jardinier and corresponds to the compositional logic of the Bosquet represented in the mid-18th-century plan held by the Rio de Janeiro Library. Evoking its original function, the beds are still used today for small vegetable plantings.

Closely connected to the lives of three generations of the Portuguese Royal Family, the National Palace of Queluz and its historic gardens form a landmark heritage ensemble in Portuguese architecture and landscape design. Its significant collection reflects the evolution of tastes and styles of the time, spanning Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassical periods.