The Royal Site of El Escorial (Madrid)

by Jose Manuel Echevarría and Pilar León

Emplacement: The province of Madrid is limited at North by a mountain chain known as Sierra de Guadarrama, just the Sierra for the Madrileños. The Royal Site of El Escorial is placed on the slope of the Abantos peak (1754 m), at the West half of the Sierra, 50 Km North-West of Madrid City. Lowlands extending between El Escorial and the City are those of the valleys of the Guadarrama and the Manzanares rivers.

The Sierra: The Sierra is a granite mountain formation from the Quaternary that belongs to the Iberian Central System. ... (more)

The original village of El Escorial
El Escorial was a small village dedicated to cattle farming, but everything...

El Escorial and the Sierra
It is placed on the upper valley of the Guadarrama river, close to the...

Close-up of San Lorenzo del Escorial
A village grew around the Royal Monastery. At present, is a place to...

The Monastery from the Abantos mountain
The Monastery was dedicated to St Lawrence after the defeat of the...

Winter from the Chair of Philippe II
Summer his warm at the Sierra, but the alttitude makes the winter...

Beyond the pines
In the honour of St Lawrence, the sole of the Monastery has the shape of a...

The main outer courtyard
An open courtyard extends at the main door of the Monastery. It's...

Strait lines
Juan Bautista de Toledo and Juan de Herrera incorporated the purity of...

Jew kings
The main inner courtyard is the Courtyard of the Kings. These sculptures are...

Beautiful doors
But the inner ornamentation is quite different. That might be a reflection of...

The Library
The library is a masterpiece of the Monastery. Wall paintings are of Italian...

Wall painting at the Library
Wall paintings are of the best quality and are very well conserved.

The Cart of Hay (Ieronimus Bosch)
Further to wall paintings, the Monastery harbours an excellent collection of...

Adam and Eve (Ieronimus Bosch)
The fantasy of Ieronimus Bosch contrasts with the overall severity of the...

Saint Cross of the Valle de los Caídos
This huge granite cross (150m high) can be already seen from the highway, 15...

La Pedriza
The Sierra is a granitic mountain chain from the Quaternary. The...

Granite blocks
Glaciers covered the Sierra during the Ice Age. These huge blocks of...

Flowers of madroño (Arbutus unedo)
The madroño is a small tree characteristic of areas with Atlantic...

The Yelmo
Granite blocks of huge proportions can be found in the valley of La...

The Eresma river, close to birthplace
Whereas some areas of the Sierra are stony and hard, many others are...

White storks
Storks are common inhabitants of the villages of the Sierra. They have...

Watching insects
Diversity of insects in the Sierra is great. In the image, a butterfly...

Caterpillar of Lymenitis reducta
Insect watching is specially nice in the rich forest of oaks called La...

Nymph of Lymenitis reducta
La Herrería was a royal hunting territory that belonged to the...

Zerynthia rumina
Endemisms are frequent in the Iberian Peninsula. This species is rare and...

Iphiclides podalirius
La Herrería extends around a small hill, which has a big stone at...

Papilio machaon
The stone is known at present as the Chair of Philippe II, and is visited by...

Mantis religiosa
The forest of La Herrería has been to us like a home garden since...

Collecting mushrooms
Mushroom collection is another good activity at La Herrería. Don't...

Lepiota rhacodes
The variety of species is broad, and some, like this one, can play a...

Flowers of Digitalis purpurea
Medicinal plants can be also found in the forest. This one is well known from...

The Spanish Fly (Litta vesicatoria)
But medicines can be also found among animals. This beetle was famous...

article published 11/27/2005

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