King Abdulaziz Palace in Linah

King Abdulaziz Palace in Linah is one of the royal palaces ordered to be built by the Founding King Abdulaziz Bin Abdulrahman Al Saud in various regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia after its unification in 1932. The Palace was built in 1935, and is located in a village called Linah in Rafha Governorate, one of the governorates of the Northern Border Province in the far north of Saudi Arabia.

The palace was built on an area of about 4,320 m² in a square geometric shape. It resembles a smaller version of the historic Al-Masmak Palace in Riyadh, as it shares the Najdi architectural style common to historic palaces in the Riyadh Province. The palace is surrounded by a square wall, with a conical tower at each corner rising above the wall for surveillance purposes. The wall is closed off by a large wooden gate located at its center.

The palace was the only residence of King Abdulaziz in the Northern Borders Province and served as the seat of the Emirate, where the affairs of the province were administered from its rooms.

Linah lies between Al-Nafud Desert and Al-Hujrah area, at a crossroads connecting it to Riyadh, Al-Qassim, and Hail via the international highway that passes through the Northern Borders.

The palace’s walls, rooms, outer fence, and towers were built using clay, stones, and mudbricks, while its doors were made of wood, and its roofs constructed from palm fronds. It includes rooms designated for King Abdulaziz, his entourage, and guests at the time. The palace also contains a stable for horses, a mosque, and a well. At its center lies a rectangular courtyard surrounded by all the rooms. Inside the palace, historic inscriptions can be found, documenting its history and date of construction.

In 2009, the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (formerly) carried out a restoration and rehabilitation project for the palace, along with several other historic palaces in different Saudi cities. This was part of the program to restore state-owned historic buildings from the era of King Abdulaziz, implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Information (before their separation into two ministries), the King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives (Darah), and the King Abdulaziz Public Library.

In 2024, Prince Faisal Bin Khalid Bin Sultan, Governor of the Northern Borders Province, directed the formation of a committee under his chairmanship, with the participation of several government entities, to review the restoration work and address observations related to King Abdulaziz Palace in Linah following the completion of its renovation project. He also instructed that expertise from other regions of Saudi Arabia in this field be utilized.