Reiza Palace | |
Function | Summer residence of the Royal Family |
Architect | Halvos Agrenir |
Built | YD 472 |
Number Of Rooms | 440 |
Reiza was built by order of Ambrai III, with the profits of the war. Building started during his tenure as High Prince and took seven years to complete. It is the summer residence of the family as the high ceilings, (of some twenty feet high on all three floors), make it difficult to keep warm in winter, while in summer the air is recycled easily. It comprises of over four hundred rooms, of which two hundred are bedrooms. The palace was to set a new standard of opulence and design, and succeeded spectacularly. Even today it is one of the most elaborately designed buildings in the world, inside and out, with very unique architectural features, such as the double helix staircase on the east wing. Reiza was designed by the celebrated architect, Halvos Agrenir. The palace remains uncompleted due to Agrenir's death, with the arches on the ground floor unfinished, and the towers on the rear not built. The decision to keep the palace as it was at the time was made out of respect for the venerable architect.
The palace is, for the most part, a residential building, with very little space dedicated to administration. The east wing holds the royal apartments, while the west wing features the guest apartments specifically designed and built for the Hylian royal family. All of the Hylian apartments are coloured in blue and green hues. These chambers are not used today, and are available as part of a tour of the palace. Members of the Hylian royal family loved to visit Reiza and nicknamed it "the pleasure palace". One of their favourite rooms was the Fenath ("Music Room"), where members of the family would gather to sing, play instruments, and generally relax.
Surrounding the palace is a park thirteen thousand acres in size, which is maintained daily by a dedicated staff of gardeners and enclosed by a wall roughly twenty miles long. The family enter into residence typically in early June, and leave for Athlante on the first of September, preferring Reiza for it's seclusion and privacy. Tours are available during the autumn and winter months, limited mostly to the west wing, but with full access to the park.
Images of Reiza -