El Escorial - the dark palace of devout Catholic Spain

The bulk of El Escorial against the Guadarrama mountains
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There are some places that come with expectation. There are some places which you have a pre-conceived notion about before you arrive...such a place is El Escorial.

When I was a lad we had easily accessible history books. They would tell of the grand power of Catholic Spain, already gobbling up the Low Countries but with its eye turned on Protestant England. Phillip II, the most powerful man in the world, cooked up 'The Enterprise of England' also known as the Spanish Armada from the El Escorial. To me this palace was tinged with menace, orders were issued from its dark corridors which affected lives around the globe. This was a palace wrapped in dark catholic shadow, sprinkled with devoutness and menace.

But somehow, despite all this light, the darkness still seems to be there. There is a chill in the dark corners where the sunshine doesnt reach.

The courtyard leading to the Capilla Real
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Much to my surprise I felt this atmosphere. Its a real monster of a palace built from white Colemar stone and seared by the heat of the Castilean plain. But somehow, despite all this light, the darkness still seems to be there. There is a chill in the dark corners where the sunshine doesnt reach. But despite all this is surely must be one of the best excursions from Madrid and one of the great palaces of Europe.

In Madrid you cannot go to bed before 3.00am so it was with great reluctance I got up and donned my sunglasses to catch a bus out to the little town of San Lorenzo El Escorial. The bus leaves from the bus station inside the METRO station of Moncloa and bus 644 will take you there and back for 790 pesetas. As we left Madrid memories of Spain as a teenager came back - clumps of brown rocks, palm trees, orange groves and white walled buildings. Madrid is lucky it has a range of mountain on its doorstep. Its the most mountainous country in Europe and somewhere in the Guadarrama mountains is the tomb of the dictator General Franco.

El Escorial from the surroundig little town.
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But I was after the palace of another visionary/monster and San Lorenzo El Escorial is a picturesque little town surrounded by the soaring Guadarrama mountains. Half palace/half tomb and half monastery is one way to describe it. I couldn't believe the size - great white walls soared into the air with blackened barred windows. It resembled a fortress more then a palace with the soaring dome of the basilica looming over all. It was built between 1564 and 1584 and is a symbol of absolute monarchial power. I found it a little chilling - but then foreigners have never been very kind about El Escorial.

Its free for EU citizens on Wednesdays and you are allowed to wander around on your own. First stop is the Museo de Arquitectura showing how El Escorial was constructed with drawings and plans. Even the workmens scissors, nails and hammers had been preserved from 1569. Then upstairs to the royal apartments which were lined with bright blue tiling. Each room was decorated by art collected by the Spanish Habsburgs. There were numerous gruesome religious oils of Degas and Rivera on display. The royal apartments finished with work by Goya - a crucifixation scene. There seems to be a sense of suffering at the Escorial.

This seemed to be born out by Phillips actual bedroom, his tiny bed was on a balcony overlooking the nave of the Basilica so he could listen to mass from his bed. A metallic gout chair stood nearby emphasising how much pain the king was in at the end of his life. Below is the epic Salla de Batalla with 20ft oils of numerous battles and with the 'matyrdoom of San Geronimo' where Christ was being crucified the Roman soldier looked more Moorish/Moroccan then Italian - showing who the Spanish really thought the enemy was.

You can spend three hours wandering the cloisters and passages of the El Escorial. There is so much to see - royal tombs, kitchens, stables, offices, and the great chapel whose altar is a brown mishmash of baroque. The place is certainly atmospheric and the more you explore the more you learn about the man who controlled the world in the 16th Century. From these wall orders went out to Manila, Cartagena and Cuzco. Use your imagination and you can hear the hum of mass wafting along the corridors or Generals mounting up in the courtyard for their long ride back to capital.

You want the Spain of history, power and intrigue? Then come here...