Spain · Restored
Alcázar Genil
The Alcázar Genil is a medieval Muslim-era palace (almunia) on the south shore of the River Genil in Granada, Spain. Built in the early 13th century and redecorated in the 14th, today only the central pavilion survives and it houses the Francisco Ayala Foundation.
Its prime
1333
Today
Restored
As it stood in 1333
What Alcázar Genil looked like in its prime.
A compact rectangular pavilion dominated by a central square qubba (domed/squared chamber) with rectangular side rooms opening onto it; the building is set directly on the south bank of the River Genil and originally faced a very long rectangular reflecting pool (121 × 28 m). The interior walls are covered in carved stucco culminating in a band of muqarnas beneath a square wooden cupola ceiling painted with interlacing geometric motifs. Only a single external entrance gives access to the introverted plan.
Its story
The story of Alcázar Genil.
The Alcázar Genil was built in 1218 or 1219 by Sayyid Ishaq ibn Yusuf, a member of the Almohad dynasty, as a palace beside the River Genil outside the city walls of Granada. Its original name was al-Qasr al-Sayyid — "the palace of the lord". When Muhammad I of the Nasrid dynasty took Granada in 1237, the palace passed into the new dynasty's possession.
The palace originally stood beside a great pool measuring 121 by 28 metres, part of an extensive water network used for agricultural irrigation and possibly also for aquatic games and displays. Its layout — a central square chamber in the form of a qubba, with rectangular side rooms opening onto it — is an early example of an interior type that became common in Nasrid architecture, and the building was a relatively introverted space rather than one open to its gardens.
Redecorated in the 14th century, the interior carries carved stucco culminating in a cornice of muqarnas, above which a square wooden cupola is painted with interlacing geometric motifs. Only the central pavilion of the palace survives today; it houses the Francisco Ayala Foundation.
Step inside
10 places to explore in 1333.
The record describes 10 distinct spots at Alcázar Genil — including 4 interiors: central qubba chamber (main hall), muqarnas cornice detail, square wooden cupola ceiling and more. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
Create History
Recreate Alcázar Genil with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1333 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
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