The New International Encyclopædia/San Ildefonso

SAN ILDEFONSO, ē̇l′dā̇-fō̇n′sō̇, or La Granja. A town in the Province of Segovia, Spain, situated 34 miles northwest of Madrid at an elevation of nearly 4000 feet, in the region of romantic beauty on the northern slope of the Sierra de Guadarrama (Map: Spain, C 2). The town itself is beautifully laid out with fine plazas, promenades, and gardens, and numerous monumental fountains; it has been called the Versailles of Spain. It owes its existence to the splendid palace built there in 1721-24 by Philip V., which has since been a summer residence of the Spanish Court. It is a beautiful building, the entire façade of which is faced by a row of tall columns reaching to the roof. The interior is luxuriously furnished, containing several hundred fine paintings and sculptures. The palace is surrounded by magnificent gardens with lakes, fountains, and statues. Here occurred the so-called ‘Revolution of La Granja,’ on the 12th of August, 1836, when some of the Liberal leaders compelled Queen Christina to sign a decree restoring the Constitution of 1812. Population, in 1900, 3444. See San Ildefonso, Treaty of.