They are situated on the western side of the park that surrounds the Pena Palace, and are part of the Sintra Cultural Landscape, classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site since 1995.

The couple finally managed to marry in 1869 when Fernando persuaded his cousin, Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, to create a title for Elise, enabling her to become Countess of Edla.

Trees were introduced from North America, with the assistance of John Slade, an American forester who was Elise's brother-in-law.

With some of the proceeds the Countess continued to give scholarships to the pianist and composer José Vianna da Motta and to Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro an artist and cartoonist.

Following a fire in 1999 that partially destroyed it, reconstruction, supported by EEA and Norway Grants, was undertaken from 2007 in order to return the building to its original state.

Inside, the restoration team went to considerable lengths, with very little information to go on, to identify the use of the various rooms and to reconstitute the decorative elements painted on the walls.