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GPS 38.78525150805481, -9.399154461161864

The Chalet da Condessa d'Edla was built by King Fernando II and his second wife, Elise Hensler, Countess d'Edla, between 1864 and 1869, according to the model of Alpine Chalets then in vogue in Europe.

It is a building with a strong scenic appeal characterized by the horizontal marking of the exterior plaster, painted to imitate a cladding in wooden planks, and by the exhaustive use of cork as a decorative element, lining door and window frames, eaves, balconies and tree trunks. adossed to the facades to support vines.

The location of the Chalet is notable because, located at the opposite end of the park in relation to the palace, it maintains an important visual relationship with the latter, which is accentuated by the proximity of a dramatic group of granite blocks, Pedras do Chalet, and by a valley that it is overbearing.

From the Chalet's balcony one could see the sea, the stones, the walls of Castelo dos Mouros cutting out the mountains and, in the background, the palace. The surrounding garden includes viewpoints overlooking the palace and exotic botanical collections from around the world, such as tree ferns from Australia and New Zealand planted in the Valley.

History

In the second half of the 19th century, King Fernando II and his second wife, Elise Hensler, Countess d'Edla, created a Chalet and Garden in the western part of Parque da Pena, with a private character and romantic sensibility, a space for refuge and recreation. of the couple.

From the eclectic decor, highlight the wall paintings, stucco, tiles and the exhaustive use of cork as an ornamental element. Outside, the garden that surrounds the Chalet – and also Quinta da Pena – brings together native vegetation and botanical species from the four corners of the world, forming an exotic landscape in which the Feteira da Condessa, the Jardim da Joina, the Caramanchão stand out. and the lakes.Between 1864 and 1869 the so-called Chalet of the Countess of Edla was built and a strong landscaping intervention was carried out in the surrounding area. Influenced by the romantic spirit of the time, D. Fernando and Elise Hensler, the future Countess of Edla, idealized one of the most idyllic and picturesque areas within what is considered the largest and most emblematic romantic park ever conceived in Portugal.

The proximity of a group of monumental granite stones, inserted in the garden, and the views of the valley, the sea, the Pena Palace, the Moorish Castle and Cruz Alta, accentuate the drama of both the construction and the landscape. .

The Garden includes a colorful formal area with camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas, and an exotic intervention in the landscape – made up of more than two hundred botanical species and full of nooks, paths, benches and viewpoints – which allows for a walk between the Chalet and the Palácio da Pity. The ornamental elements and enjoyment of the ambience, present in an almost unexpected way, are part of this route along the descent to Feteira da Condessa. The valley located to the east was the site chosen for the creation of Feteira, the first collection of ferns in Parque da Pena, of which the tree ferns from Australia and New Zealand are a special example. da Pena, which includes the Abegoaria, new stables and a space for the carts that take tours in the Parque da Pena. Sintra, classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site since 1995.

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