Carmen de la Victoria
The Carmen de la Victoria is located in an area where Carmens have existed since the Moorish period. Its current form was established at the end of the 19th century, when the original Carmen de la Victoria, called Carmen Olivarillo, and the Carmen Percal, on either side of the Moorish wall of the Cuesta del Chapiz, were combined.
Carmen, from the Arabic karm (vineyard), is the name given in Granada to the pleasure gardens on the outskirts of the city.
The Carmen de la Victoria was acquired by the University in 1945.
Carmens are typical country houses in the historic neighborhoods of Granada, descended from the pleasure gardens once owned by the Granadan Arabs on the outskirts of the city. Today, they are domestic gardens that maintain an old tradition of providing a pleasant retreat for their owners.
The Carmen de la Victoria is located on the Albayzín hill, in the Arab suburb of Axaris, the city's boundary which was already in Arab times a place of orchards, gardens and courtyards.
Following the demolition of the Convent of La Victoria in the last century, to which part of its land was linked, the Carmen was formed as we know it today. This resulted from the unification of the original Carmen de la Victoria-Huerto del Olivarillo with the Carmen del Pencal, separated from each other by the Arab wall of El Chapiz, whose outline is still visible in the terraces of the gardens. Several houses and sections of street were then incorporated into these two Carmens to form the terraced gardens that surround the residence.
Acquired by the University of Granada, it is since then the only public carmen in the city that has not lost its character as a garden-house. It was first a residence for Moroccan students (Casa de Marruecos) linked to the School of Arabic Studies, then a university hall of residence, and today a guest residence, always open for the enjoyment of university students.
Although its buildings have been expanded over time, the layout of the gardens remains as it was more than a hundred years ago. For this reason, it is one of the least altered cármenes in Granada, preserving the traditional garden styles of 19th-century Granadan regionalism.
