The tradition of Christmas tree was brought by D. Fernando II, Austrian, husband of D. Maria II and now an unprecedented reconstitution of the pine is exposed in the Pena National Palace.

The “Pinheiro da Pena” is on display at the Pena National Palace, in the Noble Room, until January 6, the next Kings Day. This is an unprecedented initiative that includes reproductions of the decoration and toys of the time, created with identical material and using traditional execution techniques and the reproduction o the first Christmas tree of Sintra.

D. Fernando was responsible for the construction of Pena National Palace, a unique architectural work with influences from his homeland, inserted in the Parque da Pena, which was also built at the request of the monarch, who added to the local species other exotic from the all over the world.

It was also D. Fernando II who introduced the Christmas tradition of decorated pine tree during his reign with D. Maria II. During Christmas, the Palace of Necessities in Lisbon, also had a pine tree from the Park of Pena, and to immortalize this moment, the King left two engravings of his own to witness the birth in Portugal of a European tradition started further east.

The monarch is also the author of another Christmas legacy, the first Happy Holidays card ever recorded in Portugal, this one from 1839, destined for his Austrian relatives as well as his cousin, the British Queen Victoria. The Pena Palace has an album of engravings that keeps a copy of this card.

This installation carried out at Palácio da Pena is the result of a historical and iconographic research that represented an investment of twenty thousand euros and is part of a continuous work that has been carried out inside the Pena Palace, to reconstruct with historical accuracy the domestic environment that marked the life of the Portuguese Royal Family.

If you want to visit this work, the first Christmas Tree of Sintra, as well as the rest of the Palace and Sintra, you can book your tour, it will be a trip not to be forgotten.