We took a city bus and rode out to El Escorial, the huge palace which was built by Phillip II as his palace. He spent most of the gold brought back from Mexico and South America in building this huge and austere project.
This place is huge and it took them decades to build it. The architecture is called "unaddorned" since it is so plain.
This is a model they have of the whole estate. They have details of construction and how it was done.
This is another model, showing the project about half done.
This is another view. Notice the cranes they show already set up in the empty space inside the walls, which are completed. They used these to raise the stones to build the walls and the members to support the roof.
This is one of the cranes presented as a scale model.
This is a windlass and the tongs that were used for grasping the stones for lifting them into place.
Pretty fancy hedges on the grounds.
Fancy woodwork that was imported from Germany to adorn the doors in the King's suite.
A painting by El Greco. The king didn't care much for El Greco's work, but much of it was in the collection and has now been moved to El Prado.
This long corridor is decorated with murals of the battles of the Spanish against the Moors. This thing was probably 100 feet long and every inch of the wall is painted. Light came in through the doors you see to the right.
Here's some of the battle scene.
A mausoleum is included and it contains the remains of most of the royals since the reign of Phillip II.
Lots of dead princes and princesses in here.
A statue of the queen kneeling in the mausoleum.