El Escorial
Overview
 
The Royal Seat of San Lorenzo de El Escorial is a historical residence of the king of Spain, in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, about 45 kilometres 45 kilometres (28 mi) northwest of the capital, Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

, in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. It is one of the Spanish royal sites
Spanish royal sites
The royal sites are a set of palaces, monasteries, and convents built for and under the patronage of the Spanish monarchy. They are administered by Patrimonio Nacional , a Spanish state agency; most are open to the public, at least in part, except when they are needed for state or official...

 and functions as a monastery, royal palace, museum, and school. It is also known shorthand as El Escorial or the Escorial.

The Escorial comprises two architectural complexes of great historical and cultural significance: the royal monastery itself and La Granjilla de La Fresneda
La Granjilla de La Fresneda de El Escorial, Madrid
La Fresneda is a park in El Escorial, Community of Madrid, Spain. Built between 1561 ad 1569, it was the prívate Royal Park of Philip II in the surroundings of the Monastery of El Escorial.-History:To symbolize the union and centralization of political power of the Hispanic Monarchy, in 1561...

, a royal hunting lodge and monastic retreat about five kilometres away.
 
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