Chapultepec Castle

Last day in Mexico City. Not a full day, but I decided to still explore. Several spots are still missing, so I decided to visit the city's iconic castle on the Chapultepec Hill. The hill was a sacred place for the Aztecs. The castle itself was used as military academy, summer house, presidential residence, imperial residence not necessarily in this order. Maybe the most prominent figure who lived here was Maximilian the 1st, the Habsburg, who was an Austrian archduke, and he became emperor of Mexico because the French intervention in Mexico created a chance for regime change: Napoleon III backed the project, and Mexican conservatives who opposed Benito Juárez’s liberal republic looked for a European royal to place on the throne. Sounds like a good job? It didn't work out well. 3 years down the line in 1867 he was captured and executed. This was the end of the Second Mexican Empire. But in these 3 years he refurbished the castle in excellent style that is preserved until these days.

The royal rooms:

Very nice view on the city:

And of course murals, because murals have to be there in Mexico: