El Escorial

A one hour train ride northwest of Madrid is the hilltown monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. Nestled in the foothills of the Sierra de Guadarrama mountains, and constructed over a twenty-one year period (1563 - 1584), this structure was to serve as a monument to the Spanish victory over the French at the Battle of Saint Quentin (1557). It was also to serve as as a monastery, Royal palace, and school. Fellow travelers told us about this sight and were so enthusiastic that we just had to take the trip. We are walkers, so climbing the hill to the monastery was no problem for us. For others, taking the bus (#661) from the train station may be a better option. There are two palaces within the complex (one for the Austrian Hapsburgs, and one for the French Bourbons), the Basilica, and the 40,000 volumed (some dating back to the early 11th century) library, founded by Philip II. In any event, this is a glorious spectacle, huge, but glorious - truly a "Must See!"

First glimpse of the monastery San Lorenzo de El Escorial through the trees.

This side view across the reflecting pool provides an idea of just how big this complex is.

The gardens of the Monastery are a work of art in their own right.

You almost feel you could reach out and touch the mountains.

This scale model of the complex shows how big it really is. We can understand why it took twenty-one years to construct the whole thing.

Every time we see frescoed ceilings like this, we are amazed at the workmanship that went into creating them.

One has to wonder how the artists of these frescoes came up with the designs.

Everything is decorated, even over the main staircase to the convent.

Part of the Royal apartments. The oval wooden piece on the floor, with a brass inlay, is for storing hot coals to heat the room.

This library, founded by Philip II, houses 40,000 volumes dating back to the 11th century. The design of the bookcases lined along the walls, broke with the earlier tradition of placing them at right angles to each other.

The entrance to the Reliquary. We will let the Latin scholars in the audience translate the inscription.

The Reliquary of Kings and Queens of the Spanish Empire. There are twenty-six sarcophagi within this circular room.

Adjacent to the Reliquary for the kings and Queens, is a area for the tombs of Princes and Princesses...

...and next to that is an area devoted to Royal children who died before puberty.

This fresco in the Hall of Battles highlights some of the major Spanish campaigns.

The magnificent main altar of the Basilica in El Escorial.

And what would a tour of any medieval structure be without finding some sort of hidden passage or room? Look closely at these two paintings. You will notice what appears to be a "crack" running through the middle of them. Upon closer inspection, we found that there were handles at the bottom of the paintings and hinges along the sides. They were too high up on the walls for hidden staircases, so we assumed they were meant to be used for storage of some kind.