Chalet and Garden of the Countess of Edla

Lore & Background

The chalet was built without plans, with the assistance of a local builder named Gregório, as the couple constructed it as they went along. This lack of plans later caused problems for restorers. The surrounding garden contains over 200 botanical species, including camellias, rhododendrons, azaleas, and a large collection of ferns from Australia and New Zealand. Trees from North America were introduced with the help of John Slade, an American forester and friend of the Countess.

Reader's Guide

After King Fernando II died, he left the Pena Palace, park, and gardens to the Countess in his will. The Portuguese State bought the property from her, believing it too important to be in foreign hands. With some of the proceeds, the Countess continued to give scholarships to pianist José Vianna da Motta and artist Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro, and supported the Sintra branch of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia. The chalet declined after government purchase and was partially destroyed by a fire in 1999. Reconstruction, supported by EEA and Norway Grants, took place from 2007 to 2011, returning the building to its original state. The restoration received a Portuguese Tourism Award and the Grémio Literário Award in 2012, and the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage in 2013. The chalet is a brick construction covered in plaster painted to resemble wooden planks, with cork decorations on windows, balconies, and handrails.

Did You Know?

• The chalet was built without any architectural plans, using only the guidance of a local builder named Gregório.
• The Countess of Edla was a Swiss-born opera singer before her marriage to King Fernando II.
• The garden includes a large collection of ferns from Australia and New Zealand, as well as trees from North America introduced by the Countess's friend, John Slade.
• After a fire in 1999, the chalet was reconstructed with support from EEA and Norway Grants and reopened in 2011.

The Scandalous Romance Behind the Walls

The Chalet and Garden of the Countess of Edla, also called the Casa do Regalo, stands on the western edge of the Pena Palace park in Sintra, Portugal. Yet its story begins not with bricks and mortar but with a scandal that shook Portuguese society. King Fernando II, consort to Queen Maria II until her death in 1853, fell in love with Elise, a Swiss-born opera singer who had since naturalized as an American. The obstacles were formidable: Elise was a commoner and mother to a young daughter whose father was never publicly identified. Their wish to marry provoked considerable public outrage. The couple constructed the chalet between 1864 and 1869 as a private retreat for their relationship. Their union finally became legally possible in 1869 when Fernando persuaded his cousin, Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, to create a noble title specifically for Elise, elevating her to Countess of Edla. The relationship endures in the public imagination as one of the great love stories of Portuguese history.

Building Without Blueprints

The couple envisioned their retreat in the style of a typical Swiss chalet, a fashion sweeping across Europe in the mid-nineteenth century. What makes the construction remarkable is its complete absence of formal architectural plans. Fernando and Elise built the structure incrementally, working alongside a local builder named Gregório, adding and adjusting elements as they progressed. This improvisational approach gave the building an organic, almost whimsical character, but it would later prove a serious challenge. When restorers attempted to return the chalet to its original condition at the turn of the twentieth century, the lack of any documented design made the task extraordinarily difficult. The finished structure is a brick construction coated in plaster and painted to imitate wooden planks. Its windows, balconies, and handrails are adorned with cork, lending a distinctly Portuguese material to the Alpine-inspired aesthetic. The building sits within the Sintra Cultural Landscape, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995, and also falls within the boundaries of the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park.

A Living Botanical Treasury

The garden that surrounds the chalet is as much a part of its identity as the building itself. Set among mature trees, lakes, and flowering bushes, it now forms an integral section of the larger park that encircles the Pena Palace. The grounds boast some 200 botanical species, including camellias, rhododendrons, azaleas, and a notably large collection of ferns sourced from Australia and New Zealand. Trees from North America were also introduced to the landscape, a project carried out with the assistance of John Slade, an American forester who happened to be Elise's brother-in-law. This personal connection between the garden's horticultural development and the Countess's own family adds a layer of intimacy to what is now a public heritage site. After the Portuguese State purchased the property from the Countess, deeming it too significant to remain in the hands of a foreigner and the late king's second wife, the garden continued to evolve as part of the national cultural landscape.

From Ruin to Renovation

After the state acquired the property, the chalet slowly fell into disrepair over the decades. The situation reached a crisis point in 1999, when a fire partially destroyed the building. Reconstruction did not begin until 2007, supported by funding from EEA and Norway Grants, with the aim of returning the structure to its original appearance. The restoration team faced a formidable challenge: with very little documentary information available, they had to painstakingly identify the function of each room and reconstruct the decorative elements that had once been painted on the walls. The building and garden were reopened to the public in 2011, and the project quickly earned recognition. In 2012 it received a Portuguese Tourism Award and the Grémio Literário Award, and in 2013 it was honored with the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage in the Conservation category. Today the chalet appears exactly as it did when it was first built.