World's largest palace

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The title of the world's largest palace is difficult to ascertain, and controversial, as many
different countries use different standards to claim that their palace is the largest in the world.

At the center of the controversy are three questions: Which physical measurements should be
considered? For which functions must a building be used to qualify as a palace? How long must
those functions have been carried out for a building to be regarded as a "palace"?

Contents
1 Largest by area
2 Faux palaces
3 Converted palaces
4 Uninhabited palaces
5 Guinness World Record
6 Largest former palace complexes
7 Comparison of world's large palaces
8 References

Largest by area
The first point of contention[according to whom?] about the title of worlds largest palace concerns
which physical measurement to use in drawing comparisons between them. Some people[who?]
feel that only the area occupied by the structure itself (the "footprint") should be considered,
while others[who?] argue that the surrounding grounds should be included, also.[citation needed]

The title of world's largest palace by area enclosed within the palaces fortified walls is held by
Chinas Forbidden City complex, which covers an area of 720,000 square meters (178 acres).
The 980 buildings of the Forbidden City have a combined floorspace of 1,614,600 square feet
(150,001 m2) and contain roughly 9,000 rooms.

The "world's largest palace by floor space" is the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest,
Romania, which was built by communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in 1986.[1] It is also the
most expensive administrative building and heaviest building.[1]

The "world's largest palace by volume" would be the Royal Palace of Caserta, with more than 2
million cubic meters (70 million cubic feet).[2]
The title of worlds largest royal domain, as measured by the total area of the property, goes to
the Palace of Versailles. Versailless grounds cover 87,728,720 square feet (8,150,265 m2), or
2,014 acres, including 230 acres of gardens. The palace itself contains 721,206 square feet
(67,002 m2) of floorspace.[3]

The Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet, with 1000 rooms on 13 levels, and over 130,000 square
meters of floor space,[4] is one of the largest palaces in the world by floor area. It was the winter
residence of the Dalai Lama until 1959. (Many sources, e.g.[5] give the area as 360,000 square
meters.)

In the castle category, Prague Castle claims to be world's largest. However, despite the singular
name, Prague Castle is not a single building. Like the Forbidden City, it comprises a number of
palaces, temples, and halls (constructed over several centuries) that share a common defensive
wall. Altogether, the complex covers 18 acres, leading to the self-appointed title of Largest
coherent castle complex in the world."[6]

Faux palaces
The second area of controversy[according to whom?] regards function. While many buildings carry the
title of palace, they either are no longer, or were never intended to be, used as a royal
residence, a sovereign residence or a bishop residence.

Romanias Palace of the Parliament contains 3,552,120 square feet (330,003 m2) of floorspace,[7]
it was never a royal residence, as Romanias last monarch abdicated in 1947, but it was the
palace intended to be used by the sovereign Nicolae Ceausescu, Romania's supreme ruler and
dictator.

Englands Palace of Westminster was built in the Middle Ages as a royal residence. It served as
the principal residence of the monarch until the 1522, when Henry VIII moved his court to the
newly acquired Palace of Whitehall.[8] Since that time, the palace at Westminster has been used
by the House of Lords, the House of Commons and various courts. The majority of the medieval
palace was destroyed by fire in 1834, with construction of the current building starting in 1840.
The palace which now stands on the site was designed specifically for parliamentary use,
however it is the property of The Crown and retains its status as a royal residence. Very little of
the medieval palace survived, but the most significant is Westminster Hall, built in 1097 during
the reign of William II.

Converted palaces
Further complicating the picture of worlds largest palace are former royal residences that
reached their current grand sizes after they ceased being used as royal residences, and were
converted to some other purpose.

The best example of such subsequent expansion is the Louvre Palace. As a royal residence, the
Louvre Palace was much smaller than the modern day Louvre Museum. The Louvre Palace was
abandoned as a royal residence in 1682, when Louis XIV moved his court to the Palace of
Versailles. The Louvre Palace was relegated to the role of displaying royal collections and
hosting administrative services, and over the centuries it went through several renovations,
expansions and additions, including a significant one as an Imperial Palace during the second
French Empire in the 19th century. It only reached its current size of 2,260,421 square feet
(210,000 m2) in 1988, as the modern Louvre Museum.[9]

Russia's Winter Palace and its annexes were not expanded after the Revolution, but the State
Hermitage Museum also occupies other buildings which add to the size of the museum, but not
to the palace. The Winter Palace contained 645,835 square feet (60,000 m2) of floorspace as a
royal residence. However, the modern Hermitage Museum complex, centered on the Winter
Palace, contains 1,978,622 square feet (183,820 m2) of floorspace.[10] This includes the Small
and the Old Hermitage buildings that were annexes to the main palace, which were used by the
Imperial Court and are part of the palace complex. The same is true of the New Hermitage, that
was used as a museum for the Imperial collections ever since it was built. All three Hermitages
and the Hermitage Theatre can therefore be considered both independent buildings and wings of
the Winter Palace. Despite a size which overshadows most other great palaces in Europe, the
Winter Palace does not contain as much floorspace, because most of the State apartments in the
north and east wings are two floors high.

Uninhabited palaces
With 1,453,122 square feet (134,999 m2) of floorspace,[11] the Royal Palace of Madrid is often
considered the largest functioning palace in Europe [4], as it is still used for state functions.
Although Spanish monarchs once occupied it, the current King of Spain does not, instead living
at the much smaller Palace of Zarzuela

Although notably smaller than several other palaces throughout the world, with only 658,858
square feet (61,210 m2) of floorspace, the Royal Palace of Stockholm also claims to be the
largest palace in the world still used for its original purpose. Yet, like the Royal Palace of
Madrid, it is not currently occupied, with Swedish monarchs instead occupying Drottningholm
Palace.

Guinness World Record

While numerous claimants under the various measurements can be recognized, to be considered
for the Guinness World Record the palace must have once been intended for use as a royal
residence. This is controversial as the definition of a palace is the official residence of a
sovereign, chief of state (as a monarch or a president), archbishop, bishop.[12] Furthermore, only
the combined area of all floors in the palace (a measurement commonly known as floorspace) is
considered.

Using these criteria, Guinness World Records currently considers Istana Nurul Iman, with
2,152,782 square feet (200,000 m2) of floorspace,[13] to hold the title as the world's largest
palace.[further explanation needed]
Largest former palace complexes

Roman Villa Neuchtel, Switzerland

In ancient times palace buildings could be as large or even larger than existing palace buildings.
Some examples are - the palace of Knossos on Greek island Crete. This palace with construction
start in 2000 BC reach its biggest size in 1500 BC with a size of 20.000 square meters (215
278.208 square feet) and 1300 rooms.[14]

The Roman emperor Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli, Italy. The Villa was a complex of over 30
buildings build between 118 and the 130s A.D, covering an area of at least 250 acres (1 mio
square meters, or 10.763.910 square feet) of which much is still unexcavated. The villa was the
greatest Roman example of an Alexandrian garden, recreating a sacred landscape. The complex
included palaces, several thermae, theatre, temples, libraries, state rooms, and quarters for
courtiers, praetorians, and slaves.[15][16][17]

When Roman emperor Nero's Golden House (Domus Aurea) was built after the great fire of
A.D. 64, the buildings covered up to 300 acres (1.214.056 square meters, or 13.067.990 square
feet). The main villa of the complex had more than 300 rooms.[18][19]

Comparison of world's large palaces

Name Location Floor Area Notes Source
The Palace of the
Parliament is the
world's largest
administrative
Palace of 330,000 square building. It
1 the Bucharest metres measures 270 m by [20][21]
Parliament (3,552,090 sq ft) 240 m, 86 m high,
and 92 m under
ground. It has 1,100
rooms and is 12
stories tall, with
 additional 8
underground
levels.[20] The
palace was intended
to be used by the
sovereign Nicolae
Ceausescu,
Romania's supreme
ruler and dictator.
Colossal parliament
building known for
its ornate interior, it
is now housing the
Senate and the
Chamber of
Deputies, three
museums and an
international
conference center.
The National
Museum of
Contemporary Art,
the Museum of
Totalitarianism and
Socialist Realism
and the Museum of
the Palace are
hosted inside the
palace.[21]
Former imperial
palace in the centre
of Vienna. Part of
the palace forms
the official
residence and
workplace of the
240,000 square President of
Hofburg
2 Vienna metres Austria. Built in the [22][23]
Palace
(2,583,339 sq ft) 13th century and
expanded in the
centuries since, the
palace has housed
some of the most
powerful people in
European and
Austrian history,
 including monarchs
of the Habsburg
dynasty, rulers of
the Austro-
Hungarian Empire.
It was the principal
imperial winter
residence, The
palace has 2600
rooms.
Hofburg
Palace
Royal residence of the
kings of France for
300 years, the modern
day Louvre Museum
210,000 square exhibitions occupy
Louvre [24][25]
3 metres 60,600 square metres
Palace Paris
(2,260,421 sq ft) (652,293 sq ft). The
entire palace complex
occupies 40 hectares
(4,305,564 sq ft) (400
000 square meters).
Louvre
Palace

The official
200.020 square
Ak presidential palace of [26][27]
4 metres
Saray Ankara the Republic of
(2,153 sq ft)
Turkey since 2014.

Ak
Saray
(White
Palace
)

Official
Istana Bandar 200,000 square residence
[13][better source needed]
5 Nurul Seri metres of the
Iman Begawan (2,152,782 sq ft) Sultan of
Brunei.
Istana
Nurul
Iman
Palace

Current Papal
162,000 square Palace and
Apostolic Vatican [28]
6 metres Vatican
Palace City (1,743,753 sq ft) Museums in
Rome.

Apostoli
c Palace
Since
1863, the
Palace has
been
occupied
by eighteen
Spanish
Governors
160,000 square General,
[29
Malacaan Manil metres fourteen
7 ]
g Palace a (1,722,226 sq ft American
) Military
and Civil
Governors,
and later
the
Presidents
of the
Philippines
.
Malacanang
palace view
With an
enclosed area
of 720,000
150,000 square
Forbidden square meters [30]
8 Beijing metres
City (178 acres), it
(1,614,587 sq ft)
is the world's
largest palace
complex.
Forbidde
n City
 Located in Poland,
Malbork Castle is
the largest castle
in the world. The
castle was founded
in 1274 by the
Teutonic Knights
who used it as
their headquarters
to help defeat
143,000 square
Malbork Polish enemies [31]
9 Malbork metres
Castle and rule their own
(1,539,239 sq ft)
northern Baltic
territories. The
castle was
expanded several
time to host the
growing number
of Knights until
their retreat to
Knigsburg in
1466.
Malbork
Castle
The largest
Royal 135,000 square
functioning [11]
10 Palace of Madrid metres
palace in
Madrid (1,453,128 sq ft)
Europe.
Royal
Palace
of
Madrid
Ancient Pope's
palace and current
presidential palace
of the President of
the Italian
110,500 square Republic. The
Quirinal [32][33]
11 metres presidential
Palace Rome
(1,189,412 sq ft) residence also has
a garden with an
area of
430,556,417
square feet (40.000
square metres or 4
 hectares).
Quirinal
Palace
in Rome
Built in the year
1889 in
Hyderabad,
India it was
93,971 square
Falaknuma owned by the
12 Hyderabad metres
Palace Nizams, the
(1,011,495 sq ft)
rulers of the
princely state of
Hyderabad, up to
1947.
Falaknum
a Palace
Former royal
residence
located in
Venaria Reale,
near Turin, in
Piedmont,
northern Italy. It
is one of the
Residences of
the Royal House
of Savoy,
included in the
UNESCO
Palace 80,000 square Heritage List in
[34][35][36]
13 of Turin metres 1997. The
Venaria (861,113 sq ft) palace garden
covers 80
hectare (800.000
square meters).
The entire estate
with La Mandria
park are more
than 6.000
hectares (60
square
kilometers)
enclosed by a
35 km (22
miles) long
 wall.
Palace
of
Venaria
Controversially
claims to be the
77,000 square
Buckingham worlds largest [37]
14 London metres
Palace working palace,
(828,821 sq ft)
despite its smaller
floor area.
Buckingham
Palace
Seat of power for
kings of Bohemia,
Holy Roman
emperors, and
presidents of
Czechoslovakia. The
70,000 square
Prague Guinness Book of [38]
15 metres
Castle Prague Records lists Prague
(753,474 sq ft)
Castle as the largest
ancient castle in the
world. at about 570
meters in length and
an average of about
130 meters wide.
Prague
Castle
Primary residence of
the Ottoman
Dynasty for
70,000 square approximately 400
Topkapi [39][40]
16 metres years. The entire
Palace Istanbul
(753,474 sq ft) palace complex
including grounds
occupies 700,000
square metres.
Topkapi
Palace
Worlds largest royal
67,000 square domain with
Palace of [3]
17 metres 87,728,720 square feet
Versailles Versailles
(721,182 sq ft) (8,150,265 m2) or
2,014 acres of palace
 grounds.
Palace of
Versailles
Controversially
claims to be
world's largest
Royal 61,210 square
palace still used
18 Palace of Stockholm metres
for its original
Stockholm (658,859 sq ft)
purpose, despite
its smaller floor
area.
Royal
Palace of
Stockholm
Royal Palace of
House of
Bourbon. It is the
Palace 61,000 square
largest royal [41]
19 of Caserta metres palace of the
Caserta (656,599 sq ft)
World by volume,
with 2 millions
cubic meters.
Reggia
di
Caserta
Currently part of
60,000 square 1,978,622 square
Winter Saint
20 metres feet (183,820 m2) [10]
Palace Petersburg
(645,835 sq ft) Hermitage
Museum.
The
Winte
r
Palace
The seat of the
Danish
Parliament, the
51,660 square Prime Minister's
Christiansbor Copenhage metres Office and the [44
21
g Palace n (556,064 sq ft Supreme Court. ]
) Also, several
parts of the
palace are used
by the
 monarchy,
including the
Royal
Reception
Rooms, the
Palace Chapel
and the Royal
Stables.
Christiansborg
Palace has a
more than 800
year-long
history as the
states centre of
power as royal
palace and
parliament.[42][43
]

Christiansborg
Palace

Worlds
45,000 square
Windsor Windsor, largest [45]
22 metres
Castle Berkshire inhabited
(484,376 sq ft)
castle.

Windsor
Castle

39,970 square Headquarters of the

Grand
23 metres Prime Minister of
Serail Beirut
(430,233 sq ft) Lebanon

Hamidiyyeh
Clock
Tower
 The Mafra
National Palace is
a monumental
Mafra Palcio 39,948 square Baroque and
24 National Nacional metres Italianized
Palace de Mafra (429,997 sq ft) Neoclassical
palace-monastery
located in Mafra,
Portugal.
Palcio
Nacional
de Mafra
- 1853l
Renaissance, palace,
the core of the
present palazzo
dates from 1458.
The palace was
bought by the
Medici family in
1549 and became
the chief residence
of the ruling
families of the
Grand Duchy of
32,000 square
Palazzo Tuscany. In the late [46]
25
Pitti Florence metres 18th century, the
(344,445 sq ft)
palazzo was used as
a power base by
Napoleon, and later
served for a brief
period as the
principal royal
palace of the newly
united Italy. The
complex also
includes the Boboli
Gardens (320,000
square meters).
Palazz
o Pitti
 It was built as a
royal residence
for King Christian
IV and is now a
museum of
national history.
The current
edifice replaced a
previous castle
31,290 square erected by
Frederiksborg
26 Hillerd metres Frederick II and is [48]
Palace
(336,803 sq ft) the largest
Renaissance
palace in
Scandinavia. The
entire palace
complex
including grounds
occupies 95
hektar (950,000
square metres).[47]
Frederiksborg
Palace
Monastery of
the Order of
San
30,658 square Saint
El Lorenzo [49]
27 metres Augustine,
Escorial de El
(330,000 sq ft) Royal Palace
Escorial
and Royal
Pantheon.
El
Escoria
l
Immortalized as
Elsinore in William
Shakespeare's play
Hamlet, Kronborg
is one of the most
28,724 square
important [52]
28 Kronborg Helsingr metres
Renaissance castles
(309,183 sq ft)
in Northern Europe
and has been added
to UNESCO's
World Heritage
Sites list
 (2000).[50][51]
Kronbor
g
Home of the
Danish royal
family, It
consists of
four identical
classical
palace
faades with
rococo
interiors
26,500 square
around an [54
Amalienbor Copenhage metres
29 octagonal ]
g n (285,244 sq ft
courtyard, in
)
the centre of
the square is a
monumental
equestrian
statue of
Amalienborg'
s founder,
King
Frederick
V.[53]
Amalienborg
Palace
It includes the
earlier Terem
Palace, nine
churches from
Grand 24,100 square
the 14th, 16th, [55]
30 Kremlin Moscow metres
and 17th
Palace (259,410 sq ft)
centuries, the
Holy Vestibule,
and over 700
rooms.
Grand Kremlin Palace

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See also Guinness World Records