Archiepiscopal Palace of Alcala de Henares

The Archiepiscopal Palace of Alcala de Henares is a historic palace in Alcala de Henares, in the Community of Madrid, Spain, within a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Archbishop Rodrigo Ximenez de Rada commissioned it in 1209 as a Mudejar fortress and occasional residence for the archbishops of Toledo. The palace hosted major events over the centuries, including the first meeting between the Catholic Monarchs and Christopher Columbus in 1486, and it later held the Central General Archive from 1858 until a fire on August 11, 1939, during the Spanish Civil War destroyed about two thirds of the building, damage that was never restored. Since 1991 it has served as the seat of the Bishopric of Alcala de Henares and houses an Antiquarium museum displaying partial reconstructions of the lost architectural elements.