If you stroll through the often narrow streets of the old town of Jerez, you will discover many old buildings. Behind one façade or another lies a real treasure that you wouldn’t expect to find there – like behind the walls of the Palacio del Virrey Laserna.
Rather inconspicuous from the outside, a large imposing entrance gate lures us into a sober entrance area, where we are greeted in a very friendly manner. Tours of the palace, which is still inhabited today and even houses a hotel in one wing of the building, start here regularly.
A look back
If we look back into the history of the city, it can be proven today that a building stood on this exact spot as early as the time of the Moors. The location near the Alcazar and the size of the building suggest that the owner at the time must have been important. To this day, there are still remains of the foundations of this old building, which are integrated into the Palacio del Virrey Laserna.
When Jerez returned to Christian rule after 1264, the king of the time gave away the most important houses in the city to 40 knights. Fortunately, the distribution was well documented. It is therefore known today that the first Christian owner of the palace was Basco Martinez Trujillo. His grandson later became one of the city’s first councillors.
The palacio was passed down within the family over the following years. It later passed from the Trujillo family to the Martinez de Hinojosa family. Mrs. Nicolasa Martinez de Hinojosa and Trujillo married Don. Alvaro de la Serna. Later, Mrs. Nicolasa de la Serna married Don Fernando Moreno. The Moreno family still lives in the house today.
Famous residents of the house
One of the most famous residents of the house was certainly General José de la Serna y Martínez de Hinojosa, the 1st Conde de los Andes, a hero of the War of Independence and the last Viceroy of Peru and Spain in America. He lived in this house in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Towards the end of the 18th century, the family rebuilt the palace in neoclassical style. At this time, the Spanish aristocracy no longer moved from house to house, but mainly lived in a fixed location. As a result, furniture no longer had to move with them and the trend developed to place heavier, larger and richly decorated furniture in the rooms. We were shown this very clearly during our tour of the Palacio del Virrey Laserna.
In 1925, the house was given a new wing in which guests could stay in the future. After the renovation, the canonical coronation of the “Virgen del Carmen” took place in the Palacio del Virrey Laserna, which was also occupied by King Alfonso XIII and the entire government.
What is there to discover?
During the tour of the impressive building, which was conducted by the master of the house himself, we were told the “rough” family and house history as well as one or two anecdotes about the family. This was usually in connection with pictures of the family, paintings or other art objects that have been in the family’s possession for many years. I really enjoyed this, it made the tour very entertaining and varied.
The tour lasts around 40 minutes and leads through several very differently designed rooms in the Palacio del Virrey Laserna. Each of these rooms contains impressive furniture from different eras. The owner was really able to tell us something about each of these pieces of furniture, whether it was a 17th century wooden Spanish cabinet or a wardrobe that once belonged to Josephine, Napoleon’s wife.
In addition to the beautiful furniture, paintings from the family’s art collection hang in the rooms. The paintings are from different eras, by different painters and show quite different styles. I really liked one or two of the paintings.
There is something to tell about every room. For example, we stood in a library that used to be the chapel of the house. I found the so-called winter salon particularly beautiful. There is a large fireplace here and a cozy seating area in front of it. This room, which was the only one that didn’t have a museum-like character to me, seemed as if people really lived in it.
I was impressed by the dining room. A large table forms the centerpiece of the room and was set with very elegant tableware. You can definitely celebrate in style here. The dining room is also one of the rooms that can be hired for events.
I was very impressed by the tour. Who would have guessed this luxury and splendor behind the actually so inconspicuous walls.
Visitor information:
Address:
C. Pozuelo, 8, 11403 Jerez de la Frontera, Spanien
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