El Escorial

San Lorenzo de El Escorial redirects here. For the municipalities, see San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Madrid and El Escorial, Madrid.

The Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial (in Spanish, Real Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial) is an immense palace, Augustinian monastery, museum, and library complex located at San Lorenzo de El Escorial (also San Lorenzo del Escorial), a town 45 kilometres (28 miles) northwest of Madrid in the autonomous community of Madrid in Spain.

The complex has an enormous store of art, including masterworks by Titian, Tintoretto, El Greco, Velázquez, Roger van der Weyden, Paolo Veronese, Alonso Cano, José de Ribera, Claudio Coello and others. Also at the complex is a library containing thousands of priceless ancient manuscripts. Giambattista Castello designed the main staircase.

It is the burial site for most Spanish kings in the last five centuries, from the houses of Habsburg and Bourbon. The Royal Pantheon contains the tombs of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (King Charles I of Spain), Philip II, Philip III, Philip IV, Charles II, Louis I, Charles III, Charles IV, Ferdinand VII, Isabel II, Alfonso XII and Alfonso XIII. The two first Bourbon kings, Philip V and Ferdinand VI, as well as King Amadeo of Savoy (1870-1873), are not buried in the Monastery.

The complex is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is an extremely popular tourist attraction, often visited as a day trip from Madrid.

The surrounding town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial (Madrid) is also home for the popular summer courses of Universidad Complutense. A downhill neighbour town also named El Escorial has a likenamed RENFE station.

Near El Escorial there is the Monumento Nacional de Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caidos with the tallest memorial cross in the world.

External links

Gourt Home::Gourt :: El Escorial

See also

External links