A small house in the middle of an enchanted forest overlooking the Royal Palace. Doesn't this remind you of anything?
Um... Maybe if you imagine three good fairies and a princess cursed by an evil witch!
Yes, now you can remember something. Is there any connection between the magical Chalet and that of the beautiful Aurora? Imagine her living here, it would be magnificent, wouldn't it?
If she were real, this would certainly be her Chalet. But no, no such link exists - only in my imagination - her story is quite different.
In the second half of the 19th century, D. Fernando II and his future second wife, Elise Hensler, Countess of Edla, created a Chalet and Garden on the western side of the Park of Pena. Strategically located west of the Pena Palace, the building follows the model of the Alpine Chalets then in vogue in Europe.
Parques de Sintra
This place that could only be seen in dreams, is inside the park of Pena Palace, was the home of the Countess of Edla, the second wife of King Fernando II after the death of his first wife Queen Maria II during the birth of her eighth child in 1853.
In 1885 King D. Fernando II died leaving the Palace and Park of Pena in his will to the Countess of Edla. After a judicial process, the Countess agreed to sell the Park and Palace to the State in 1889, keeping the usufruct of the Chalet and Garden until 1904. After that date it was abandoned until 1999 when a fire partially destroyed it.
In 2011, after a thorough restoration process, supported by EEA Grants, the Chalet and Garden of the Countess reopen to the public.
You can consult some of this information on the Parques de Sintra website.