M u s e u m    T o u r

Welcome to the Imperial Museum

D. Pedro II's summer palace, now the imperial museum, was the emperors' favourite residence. There he spent the best moments of his life. In 1845, on orders from the monarch and using his private purse, construction was started. It was also the origin of the town of Petrópolis. The german major and engineer, Frederico Koeler, was responsile for the original project. At that time he held the post of superintendent of the imperial estates. After his death work continued under the direction of architects Cândido Guillobel and José Maria Jacinto Rebelo.

The floor of the  entrance hall, of italian carrara and black belgium marble, was laid in 1854. Noticeable also are the floors and the woodwork of hard woods from different provinces of the empire: jacaranda, cedar, ivory wood, rosewood and brazilian mahogany. The stucco work in the dinning and music rooms, the empresse's private sitting room, the state room and in their majesties bedroom, add grace  and beauty to these  environments, one of the most important architectural monuments in Brazil. The gardens, designed by Jean Baptiste Binot under the directions of the emperor, contain many rare species of both brazilian and foreign flora.