The Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial, in spiritual trips is widely recommended for its atmosphere of spirituality that covers it in all its dependencies, it is a true complex, which is composed of a basilica, a pantheon, a palace royal, a large library and a monastery of Augustinian friars who occupy it. Its construction was between 1563 and 1584 in the Renaissance style and under its ideology the King Felipe II. Its origin has been much discussed but what has no discussion is that the king was a very religious person and when comparing a series of details he has reached the conclusion that his base is the temple of Jerusalem no temple of Solomon described in the Bible . It was built in honor of the battle of San Quint nyd a de San Lorenzo.
Location of the Monastery of the Escorial.
The Escorial monastery is located in Spain very close to its capital Madrid. It is only 53 kilometers northeast in the Sierra de Madrid . It is located in the town of San Lorenzo del Escorial.
You will know the truth and the truth will set you free (Luke 8:32)
How to get to the Escorial?
If you are staying in a Hotel in Madrid, tours to the Monastery are offered at affordable prices. You can go by train leaving the Atocha station, every hour a train leaves for San Lorenzo. If you want to go by bus , leaving the Moncloa station buses leave every 30 minutes.
Brief Description of the Monastery in your Spiritual Trips .
It is a set of buildings that occupy 33, 327 m2 with a Renaissance and austere architecture. It is shaped like a grill remembering the death of San Lorenzo who died a martyr on a grill.
Courtyard of Kings: In front of the main facade of the church are the sculptures of the kings of Jerusalem , David, Solomon , Hezekiah, Jehoshaphat, Josiah and Manasseh . These measure 5 meters high made of granite and with crowns and bronze scepters. The Basilica: With two twin towers 72 meters high and on the cruise the great dome of 92 meters, highest point of the Monastery. Pantheon of Kings: A crypt located under the main altar of the basilica, going down 34 steps is located in its urns most of the Kings of Spain. There are some rooms called pudrideros where the bodies are placed for 50 years before moving on to the royal crypt. Currently there are the kings Don Juan de Borbón 1913-1993 and María Mercedes de Borbón and Orleans 1910-2000.
There are also the pantheons of infants and toddlers, they are sites with sculptures and paintings by renowned Renaissance artists. The crypt of the toddlers is shaped like a cake, something very impressive. The Royal Library: A room with shelves 54 meters long x 10 high, at the entrance there is an inscription that says "Whoever removes a book or object from this room has a penalty of excommunication." There are thousands of books in different languages, Latin, Hebrew, Arabic and many others, unfortunately many books were lost in fires. The books on the shelves are flipped, it was a custom of times ago the belief that this extended the life of the book. The king wanted to have a center of culture and wisdom next to the Basilica as Solomon did .
If we assume an attitude of humility, our qualities will grow. Dalai Lama.
Palace of the Austrias.
Also called Palacio de Felipe II is a two-story building which has a window that directly overlooks the chapel on the main altar, the king could see the offices of the Mass from his bed when he was sick. This was divided into several rooms, ambassadors hall, Battle room and others.
The monastery It was originally occupied by monks of San Jerónimo but these were disappearing, leaving the Augustinians as occupants since 1885. In the middle of the cloister is the courtyard of the evangelists, these are cloister monks and young religious who are forming , this community has staff for the maintenance of the monastery.
Visitors who arrive in their spiritual journeys from all over the world are amazed by the treasures in sculptures and paintings found there. The wide spaces give the place a spiritual character. Photography is not allowed and in many of the rooms you should speak in moderation . On spiritual trips we highly recommend your visit.
AUTHOR: Antonio, editor of the great family of hermandadblanca.org
