The history of El Escorial Monastery began when Emperor Charles V left a final codicil in his will for the establishment of a religious foundation in which he would be buried with his wife, Isabella of Portugal.
Charles V's son, Philip II, took over the task after his return from Flanders in 1559 and appointed Juan Bautista de Toledo as the royal architect.
In 1560 a site was chosen in an agricultural area at the foot of the Sierra de Guadarrama, 2 km from the town of El Escorial, and entrusted to the Order of the Hieronymites the following year.
The new monastery, which received its foundation charter in 1567, was named San Lorenzo el Real del Escorial, in honor of San Lorenzo de Roma, a martyr of supposed Hispanic origin, and was destined to serve as a royal pantheon.
Tradition, however, also holds that it was dedicated to San Lorenzo de la Victoria, in fulfillment of a vow made by Philip II to atone for the destruction of a church dedicated to San Lorenzo in the Battle of San Quintín in 1557.
The beginning of the Escorial History
The first stone was laid on April 23, 1563 and the complex was officially completed on September 13, 1584.
The current town of San Lorenzo del Escorial developed around the royal residence.
A fire in the monastery in 1671 prompted the construction of new roofs, which were built by Gaspar de la Peña and Bartolomé Zumbigo y Salcedo, and there was further fire damage in 1731, 1763 and 1825.
The order of the Hieronymites was expelled on three occasions (in 1808, 1837 and 1854) and finally replaced in 1885 by the Augustinians, who now occupy the monastery, although the building is under the administration of Patrimonio Nacional.
In 1939 many paintings were transferred to the Prado Museum in Madrid.
From 1953 onwards, important restoration works were carried out on the architecture of El Escorial under the direction of the architect Ramón Andrada.
In 1963 a new gallery (New Museums) was established in the royal palace for the art collection, along with an architectural museum displaying material related to the construction of the building.
