In El Escorial are traveling for the sake of a magnificent monastery and a 16th century palace - San Lorenzo del Escorial. In addition to the monumental and gloomy architecture, there are paintings by great artists: Titian, El Greco, Veronese, Tintoretto, Bosch and Velasquez. Collections of tapestries woven according to the sketches of Goya and Rubens, and the marble mausoleum of Spanish monarchs will complement the picture.
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How to get there
From Madrid to Escorial there are both buses and trains. Travel time - no more than an hour, cost ~ 8 EUR round trip. It is more convenient to get to the bus by bus, since the bus station is located practically in the center of the city, while from the railway station you have to walk 15 minutes on foot or wait for the bus (stop just 20 m from the station).
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Monastery and Palace Escorial
The idea of erecting such a monumental and luxurious monastery came to the mind of Philip II after defeating the French at the Battle of St. Cantin in Flanders . This significant day fell on the feast day of Saint Lawrence, so with the name for a long time did not think . Here Philip wanted to realize the project of the unprecedented mausoleum for his father, the emperor Charles V, whose remains were moved here in 1586 . However, the buildings of the pantheon of bronze, marble and jasper did not wait, a stone miracle was built in the crypt of the church only under Philip III in 1617 . Today the remains of all the kings of Spain are buried, starting with Charles V . Who is not here, so this is Philip V (who, they say, could not stand the gloom of the Escorial and asked to be buried in Segovia ) and Ferdinand VI . The remains of the latter are now in Madrid . Among the majestic tombs one can find women's names - burials of queens that gave life to male heirs .
@ Against this pantheon there is a more modern prince of the 19th century where princes, princesses and queens are buried, whose children did not inherit the throne.
Of course, the dark pantheons are by no means the only attraction of the Escorial. However, it is an important monument of the Spanish people, their tradition and history, so that during a tour of the monastery, walks past a dozen other graves can not be avoided.
Paseo Juan de Borbon
Working hours: Tue-Sun 10: 00-17: 00
Entrance - 5 EUR
The Cathedral in Escorial
The main cathedral of the monastery attracts attention by painting the ceiling and wonderful frescoes .Along 43 altars Spanish and Italian masters left amazing masterpieces not found anywhere else in the world .For example, the main retablo (zaaltar image) was designed by the architect of Escorial Juan de Herrera .Here between the columns of jasper and marble are paintings of scenes from the life of Christ, the Virgin Mary and the saints .On the other side are the royal places and sculptures of Charles V, Philip II and their families at the prayer .And here's what the French writer and philosopher Theophile Gautier wrote about the cathedral:
Library
Many consider the library of El Escorial equal in number and quality of the rarities contained there Vatican .Let's leave it to historians and professors and only briefly list the manuscripts stored there: manuscripts St. .Augustine, Alfonso the Wise and St. .Theresa, the world's largest collection of Arabic manuscripts, illustrated collections of hymns and works on natural history and cartography since the Middle Ages .In addition, it is the only library in the world where books are placed with rootlets inside - to better preserve decorations of bindings .True, most of the books for tourists are now copies of originals .
The ceiling painting made by Tibaldi and his daughter is noteworthy. It symbolizes seven sciences: dialectics, grammar, rhetoric, arithmetic, astronomy, geometry and music. Theology and philosophy are dedicated to the end walls.
Other attractions
A half-hour walk from the palace in the mountains is the solitary "Tower of Philip", from where the king followed the construction of the Escorial. The climb is quite steep and takes a lot of effort, but it still costs to climb: from there a stunning panorama opens and you can see that the palace is built in the form of a grate on which the holy martyr, Lavrenty, the patron of Escorial, was burned.
In addition, during the reign of the Bourbons near the monastery were built two small palaces, used as hunting estates and guest houses.
Museums
Escorial sheltered two large New Museums. The collection of one of them represents the history of the erection of the Escorial in drawings, plans, instruments and scale models. In the nine rooms of the second museum canvases of 15-17 centuries are kept, including Bosch, Veronese, Tintoretto, Van Dyck. Flemings and Titian - the court painter Charles V are especially fully represented.
Photos of El Escorial (1)