Exploring España: El Escorial

Although I had lived in Spain for 17 months, for various reasons I'd seen very little of the country. Having recently realised that Spain probably wasn't my 'forever country', I decided to see what I could while I could, starting immediately.

Some 45 km (28 miles) outside Madrid in the foothills of the Sierra de Guadarrama lies the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Real Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial.

Built between 1563 and 1584, this huge granite monastery was commissioned by King Felipe II (r. 1554-1598) to commemorate Spain's victory over the French at Saint-Quentin on 10 August, 1557 – the day of Saint Lorenzo hence the choice of location. It was also designed to serve as the final resting place for Felipe's parents, King Carlos I of Spain (also known as the Holy Roman Emperor Carlos V) and Infanta Isabella I of Portugal.

First look at El Escorial

It was unexpectedly cold outside so I thought I'd better go indoors. I quickly located the ticket office, paid my €10 (£8/US$13) and was free to roam. Sort of. As with all former Royal residences there is a strict path to be followed. Consequently, I found myself trailing through endless rooms full of art I had little to no interest in. Things improved with the architectural museum, which is home to original plans for the monastery and tools used in its construction, but all too soon it was back to art. I wanted to see rooms rather than paintings so I rushed through the art galleries. There were definitely some interesting rooms with beautifully-painted ceilings, but there was little time to appreciate them thanks to the overly-large tour groups that were hell-bent on taking up every free inch of space.

Fortunately, the room I was most keen to see did not disappoint. Dating from the 17th century, Panteón de los Reyes (Royal Pantheon) is a Baroque-style room that contains the body of every king bar three from the time of Carlos I. There are even two empty sarcophagi reserved for the bodies of the parents of Juan Carlos I, who was at the time of writing the current king of Spain. (He abdicated in June 2014 in favour of his son, now King Felipe VI). The former regents' bodies are housed in opulent sarcophagi made of marble and bronze. The kings lie on the left as you enter and their wives, at least those who were mothers to crowned kings, lie opposite them on the right.

You can't take photos so I have had to source these from the internet. The coffin of Felipe II's father, Carlos I is the top one on the far right. Felipe's own coffin is immediately below it. The two below them are those of Felipe II's son and grandson respectively, Felipe III and Felipe IV.

Inside the Pantheon (Photo © madridiario.es)

Close up of the sarcophagi (Photo © pedresdegirona.com)

The Panteón de los Reyes contains only the bodies of crowned kings and the wives who bore them sons who later became kings. The bodies of all other members of the Royal family – from the wives who weren't mothers of crowned kings to the sons and daughters who never ruled – lie in the nearby Panteón de Infantes (Pantheon of the Princes and Princesses), which was built in the latter part of the 19th century. The royal children who died before puberty are all interred in a single circular tomb made of Carrara marble. Again, no photos allowed so I have had to make do with ones I found on the internet.

The wedding cake-like tomb (Photo © helencarnate.tumblr.com)

A little further along is the tomb of Don Juan of Austria, illegitimate son of Carlos I, and half-brother to King Felipe II. On his death in October 1578, his body was returned to Spain and laid to rest in the as yet unfinished crypt, not far from his father's coffin. In time, he was honoured with his own niche, and a 19th century marble effigy.

Don Juan of Austria (Photo © Ariana Osegueda)

Seeing the two crypts was definitely the highlight of the tour, although I did enjoy seeing the library, which houses 50,000 rare manuscripts, codices and ancient books. One of the things I wanted to see was the garden, but somewhere between the chapel and the library, I must have missed a sign. And on exiting the library I found myself being dumped unceremoniously back into Patio de los Reyes, the main courtyard. From there, I had no option but to leave the complex or pay again to get back in.


The greyness of the day added to the severity of the building



Looking towards the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial

Unwilling to pay another €10 for re-entry, I decided to go in search of a nice cup of tea instead. I located a rather nice café in the historic centre of the town and I spent a while sitting there nursing a cup of tea and trying to warm up. High-ceilinged granite buildings are rather draughty!

With my tea drunk I left the café and figured I might as well head back to the train station. But as I walked under the archway leading back to the monastery, I saw something that cheered me right up – blue skies! So I went back to the monastery to get a couple more shots.

Archway leading from the historic town centre to the monastery

I can see you, blue sky!

The sun bringing a little warmth to the icy-cold monastery

Although I couldn't explore the monastery again without paying for another ticket, which I wasn't prepared to do, I was allowed to stand in the entrance of Patio de los Reyes and take photos of the church. So that's what I did.



View of the church through the arches

While it's fair to say that El Escorial had never been top of my list of places to go, I did enjoy my trip, although I'd probably have enjoyed it more if the weather had been better! I definitely want to revisit the place, not least because my interest has been piqued by suddenly realising that Felipe II was once the husband of England's Mary Tudor. Being something of a Tudor fan, I knew she had married a Philip of Spain – I just failed to make the connection that it was this one!