Description of the attraction
El Escorial, located 51 km from Madrid, is extremely rich in historical monuments. In this village, King Philip II ordered the construction of a palace-monastery dedicated to Saint Lawrence. The king died here in 1598. In memory of the holy Martyr Laurentia, the entire structure is made in the form of a lattice - a gigantic square, broken into smaller squares. The rugged-looking palace contains magnificent treasures.
The rooms of the palace are richly decorated with tapestries, among which there are tapestries made from Goya's cardboard. The hall is magnificent, decorated with frescoes depicting battle scenes.
On the second floor there is a museum, where you can see paintings by Dutch, Italian and Spanish artists, including the magnificent painting "Calvary" by the Dutch artist Rogier van der Weyden.
The private chambers of Philip II, tidied up with emphasized modesty, are located on the third floor of the palace. In the king's bedroom there is a window that looks directly into the church: Philip II, suffering from gout, could attend the service without leaving his bed.
The Tomb contains the tombs of all the kings and queens of Spain. The Library contains over 40 thousand books created over several centuries. Here you can see the rarest precious manuscripts. The ceiling of the library was painted by Tybaldi in the 16th century.
