Patio de la Reja

Courtyard in Granada

Fountain In Patio De La Reja, Alhambra — CC BY-SA 3.0 / Luis Alfonso Escudero

Patio De La Reja, Alhambra 2 — CC BY-SA 3.0 / José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro

Wrought Iron Grille Walkway, Patio De La Reja, Alhambra 1 — CC BY-SA 2.0 / gema de la fuente

View From Patio De La Reja, Alhambra 1 — CC BY-SA 2.0 / gema de la fuente

Fountain And Viewing Platform, Patio De La Reja, Alhambra — CC BY-SA 3.0 / Shesmax

The Patio de la Reja or Patio of the Wrought Iron Grille is a courtyard to the north of the Palacio de los Leones. The Palacio de los Leones is one of the palaces that make up the Palacio Nazaríes in the Alhambra Complex, in Granada, Spain.

When was the Patio de la Reja built?

The patio would have been built at the same time as the Habitaciones de Carlos V, between 1654 and 1655.

Where does the Patio de la Reja get its name?

Patio de la Reja’s name comes from the wrought iron grille that is on the southern wall since 1655,which is used as a balcony. It was also used to functions of corridor and communication between the rooms of Habitaciones de Carlos V. It was also called Patio de Juana la Loca or Patio of Juana la Loca, because it is supposed that they gave the rooms with bars of Juana I of Castilla.

It is thought that one of the reasons the rooms with bars was used to store the jewelry and the bars were made to protect them.

What does the Patio de la Reja Look like?

In the middle of the patio there is a stone fountain, with a reused white marble cup, the waters of the cup pour into an octagonal base which is also made from marble. In the corner of the courtyard are hundred-year-old cypresses.

The patios is clearly of a different style to the earlier parts of Alhambra and is similar to Christian cloisters.

In the western end of the Patio there is a wide opening where you can see the impressive basement of the Sala de la Barca, known since the 17th century as the Sala de las Ninfas or Room of the Nymphs by some female statues that were kept there, but are now found in the Palace of Carlos V.