The Monasterio in El Escorial

Built at a time when Catholic Spain felt threatened by Protestant "heretics" its constructions dominated the Spanish economy for 20 yrs 1563-1584. Because of this drain on the national budget Spain has almost nothing else to show from this most powerful period of her history. This giant, gloomy building looks more like a prison-granblack stone, over 100 miles of passages, 2,600 windows, and 1,200 doors. King Philip II ruled this bulky empire and directed the Inquistion from here.