Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial

The Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial is the monument that best sums up the ideological and cultural aspirations of the Spanish "Golden Age", expressed here through an original synthesis of Italian and Flemish artistic forms at the behest of Philip II.

Grouping together several functions in one building, San Lorenzo el Real was created as a monastery for the monks of the order of St. Jerome, whose church served as a pantheon for Emperor Charles V and his wife, Isabella of Portugal, as well as his son Philip II and their relatives and successors, and where the friars prayed continuously for the salvation of the royal family. It also has a palace to house the king, as patron of the foundation, and his entourage. The college and seminary complete the religious aspect of the Monastery, and the Library was established for these three centres. This layout is, to an extent, still in place today. The figure of Charles V is decisive in the founding of this Royal Site because of how much he influenced his son's beliefs by spending his last years amongst the Hieronymite monks of Yuste and because of the need to give him a worthy burial.

Once he had decided to found the monastery, Philip II began to look for a location in 1558 and the decision was made at the end of 1562, with work beginning according to the design or "universal drawing" of Juan Bautista de Toledo. In 1571, the convent part was already more or less finished; the "king's house" was started in 1572 and the Basilica in 1574, finished in 1586 and consecrated in 1595, the date that can be considered the end of the Work, although the last stone had been placed in 1584 and the decorative work took several more years. The king carefully supervised all the construction work.

The Monastery was isolated in the middle of the countryside, with only a few service buildings for the palace and the monastery: the two buildings for religious services and the entourage. But Charles III ordered the creation of a small elegant town to be planned by the architect Juan de Villanueva, who was able to adapt his Italian classicist training to the nationalist spirit that El Escorial came to represent for the culture of the Spanish Enlightenment. His works notably include the Casa de Infantes and the Ministro de Estado.

THE MONASTERY´S UNIQUE SPACES

THE KING´S COURTYARD

This was the main entrance to the building and is named after the six kings of the tribe of Judah who were chosen thanks to their participation in the construction of the Temple of Jerusalem. That temple was built at the request of King Solomon, considered the alter ego of Philip II in the Renaissance.

 

BASILICA

Considered the nerve centre of the building, it is a masterpiece of Spanish Renaissance architecture. It is built in granite masonry and its Greek cross shape forms a square of 50 metres on each side.

The royal cenotaphs of Charles V and Philip II stand out on both sides of the altar, made by Pompeo Leoni in gilded bronze.

 

LIBRARY

This is the place that most clearly demonstrates that the Monastery was built in honour of the Monarchy, the Faith, the sciences and the arts. The 54-metre long vault painted by Pelllegrino Tibaldi is a prominent feature of the Library, representing the seven liberal arts, theology and philosophy.

 

PANTHEON OF KINGS

Although the project of Philip II was not completed until the reign of his grandson Philip IV, the Spanish Kings since Charles V have been entombed in the Royal Pantheon, except for Philip and Ferdinand VI who were interred in the Collegiate Church of the Royal Palace of La Granja and the Salesas Reales Convent respectively.

 

THE BATTLE ROOM

This is a room with enormous symbolic value and in the times of King Philip II, visitors and embassies that visited him had to pass through this great room beforehand. The walls are adorned with the great military triumphs of the Austrians and their predecessors.

 

MONASTERY AND COTTAGE GARDENS

Two sides of the Monastery -the North and the West- are flanked by La Lonja, a large L-shaped patio, and the other two by the Italian-style terraced gardens, with straight lines of boxwood pruned into cube shapes. The garden of the friars runs along the southern and part of the eastern façade, under the windows of the monastic cells. Beyond this, on a lower level, is the orchard, which was also divided up by straight paths.

The terrace to the east of the building is occupied by other enclosed gardens, similar in all respects to the friars' garden but separated from it by walls with niches as they were intended for the royal family, as they surround the King's House and brighten up the view from the palace windows.

 

LA HERRERÍA FOREST

The La Herrería Forest is a natural area of great historic and scenic value within the Community of Madrid, located next to the Royal Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial, in the northwest of the capital. Its total area is 497 hectares.

It is a typical Mediterranean forest of marcescent leaves (Pyrenean Oak), in a strong continental transition between the deciduous (ash) and the evergreen forest (holm oak), on gently undulating terrain with large granite outcrops, with the Aulencia river running through from west to east. Also worth noting is the remarkable maple at the Silla de Philip II. The predominant species of bushes, which make a dense layer of underbrush in the wooded areas, are hawthorns, sloes, rosehips, brambles and brooms. In the pastures the grass is rich and abundant.

There is considerable diversity of fauna in La Herrería, although the constant presence of visitors makes it elusive. The most emblematic mammals that inhabit the forest are the roe deer, wild boar, fox and marten, with the notable presence of wild cats and otters. There are many small insectivorous birds such as blue tits, great tits and flycatchers; and others such as owls, jays and woodpeckers. There are also cormorants, European bee-eaters, lesser spotted woodpeckers and red-billed choughs. High above we can observe vultures, golden eagles, peregrine falcons, booted eagles, buzzards and kites. Amongst the species of reptiles are ladder snakes, montpellier snakes, ocellated lizard, sand racers and common geckos.

La Herrería Forest was declared a Beauty Spot in 1961, and is currently included in the Natura 2000 Network as a Site of Community Interest and Special Protection Area for Birds. Its entire area is open to the public and the management carried out by Patrimonio Nacional aims to make its enjoyment compatible with the conservation of the natural environment.

 

World Heritage Cities - San Lorenzo de El Escorial