5/23 Santa Fe Palace of the Governors

Actually, I visited both this and the New Mexico History Museum, but I mostly took photos of the governor's palace because it was more interesting.  They are located next to one another and one ticket gets you into both.  The Palace of the Governors is the older building, constructed in the early 1600s and used as the seat of government for New Mexico literally for hundreds of years, so for me it is much more interesting. 


You can find more information here:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_the_Governors


This is a view from the courtyard.  I would have taken more photos of the outside, but most of it was covered in modern scaffolding, as they were patching the outside and repainting it.





Now, here is a comparison of wheeled transportation.  Check out these wheels.

And compare them to this wheel!  This is a wheel from an oxcart from the 17th century. It is made from one enormously thick board with smaller chunks of rough wood added to make it rounder.  No wonder it needed an ox to pull it.

What I really enjoyed was the building itself.  While it has been rebuilt and renovated over the centuries, some of the older construction still exists, such as this beamed ceiling and adobe wall in the back.

The vertical chiseled out area on the back wall is due to a small fireplace and flue being added after the wall was built.

Another amazing ceiling.  Look at the size of those beams!

This governor's palace was a mix of the native American and Mexican missionary's belongings and life style.

Several "windows" in the floor showed some of the original stone and mud foundations.

A poster showing some foundations.

Another peek into the past.

This room showed the contrast between the Spanish and native American weapons and shields.  

The item hanging on the right part of this wall is a chain mail suit.

Some of the clothing owned by the priest.  Obviously, some items were locally made of leather and wool.

The town square near the museums. Lots of places to shop in this town!  I enjoyed some ice cream sitting on one of the benches.

Another view of the town square.