The castle of the Alhambra

Alhambra and Generalife are inscribed to the World Heritage List in 1984, and in 1994 UNESCO integrates in the same site the Albaicin neighborhood. The former two are the castle and royal residence and the associated gardens, which were the royal residence of the emirs of the XIIIth and XIVth century. The Albaicín presents itself as a neighborhood representing the traditional Muslim architecture of the moment.

The criteria to inscribe the Alhambra and the Generalife are their uniqueness, their influence over the entire Spanish history, their architectural values representing the Nasrid style, and their association to the history of the Islam in the western world. The Albaicín appears as a complementary universal value area that preceded the two former in chronological terms, representing the popular neighborhoods. A relevant element for the site is a geological condition: the buildings are on an earth conglomerate with a high bearing capacity, on which the cuts can be almost vertical without falls, so large changes in level are possible on some areas.

The site is delineated widely, and has a more reduced buffer zone to the south.

The site and its buffer zone. The site is large as it has been defined taking into acount the landscape and functional relations of the gardens

The palace of Charles V

In 2012 3.313.360 persons visited the Alhambra and the Generalife.  With the Albaicin, they are a really interesting visit, and even raise the issue of the internal coherence of the sites with the example of the Charles V palace, a wonderful renaissance architecture in itself but a contrast as related to the Nasrid architecture. I must reckon that this contrast is not a problem to me…

The Lion’s court (when I took the photo some years ago the lions where being restored in a different location)

A part of the Albaicín from Alhambra