El Escorial was built in the late 1500’s, as the palace of the King of Spain. It is laid out in symmetric squares. It is said that the floor plan was to mimic Solomon's Temple. The Royal Seat of San Lorenzo de El Escorial is where the King of Spain lives. The building is in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial which is like 45 kilometers northwest of the capital, Madrid, in Spain. El Escorial is the name of a historical architectural structure that once covered the King of Spain’s land.
This religious site has served as a royal palace, monastery, school and is a museum today. The town is known as San Lorenzo de El Escorial. The El Escorial is not the only important architectural complex in the town but it’s the location for another important historical building called El Real Monasterio. Both these places served as houses of temporary power during the 16th and 17th century for the Spanish monarchy. They were the symbols of the Roman Catholic faith. This can be clearly seen in the aesthetic sense in their design.
At one point in time the El Escorial was functioning as a monastery and it served as the Spanish royal palace. The property belonged to the Hieronymite monks. However, the ownership of the building was transferred to the Order of Saint Augustine. Today it is the monastery for Christianity. By the 16th century the Protestant Reformation was popular in Europe.
Philip II was the ruler of Spain during that time and he made efforts to stop the growing population of the Protestants. He was partly successful in his attempts, and after 30 years the complex that he had built in honor of his faith was used to get rid of the Protestant school. Today El Escorial has been named a world heritage site by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization). It is also a popular tourist attraction and has more than 500,000 people come every year. The Royal building is at the foot of Mount Abantos in Sierra de Guadarrama. The surrounding environment is a forest which had iron mines way back when.
The location to build El Escorial was chosen by King Philip II because of the Spanish victory of 1557 against the King of France. Juan Baustista de Toledo was the Spanish architect to design the El Escorial. The architect had previously designed other important religious buildings like the basilica skill of St. Peter in Naples. Juan got the name of the Royal Architect in 1559 and started working on the El Escorial which eventually served as one of the most important monuments of the Christian.
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