The Monastery occupies the former palace which was home to Carlos I and Isabel de Portugal, and where their daughter Juana was born in 1535. Many years later, in 1557, Juana, who was by then the widow of the Prince of Portugal, founded at this same location the convent for the Barefoot Franciscan Nuns, where she was to be buried following her death, in a chapel at the Monastery that is renowned for its praying funerary sculpture made by Pompeyo Leoni.
The Monastery cloister conserves the structure and many decorative elements of the Plateresque palace. Juana lived at the Barefoot Nuns' Convent, as well as her sister María, the widowed empress that died there in 1603. Fresco paintings from the 17th century have been conserved on the stairs and at the Miracle Chapel.
The highlights are the tapestries woven in Brussels, on drawings made by Rubens, representing the Apotheosis of the Eucharist, which were commissioned for this Monastery by Phillip II's daughter, Infanta Isabel Clara Eugenia, Governess of the Low Countries.
Madrid is the capital of Spain. It is located at the geographical centre of the Iberian Peninsula, 650m above sea-level. Its surface area is 531 km2 and it has 5,000,000 inhabitants.
Address:
Plaza de las Descalzas Reales, 3,
28013 Madrid
Tel. no. 91.521.27.79
Visiting hours
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays: From 10:30 to 12:45 and from 16 to 17:45
Fridays: From 10:30 to 12:45 H
Sundays and bank holidays: From 11:00 to 13:45 H
Mondays: closed
The earliest human settlements go back as far as Palaeolithic times and it is known that there was a significant population living in the area during the Iron Age. There were no major changes during Romanisation and the Visigothic period. The city was founded in the 9th century when Mohamed I founded an outpost, which he named Magerit, to defend Toledo against Castilian attacks. The city was then divided into two parts: the Alcázar or Almudaina (fortress) and the city with the narrow streets. It then started to grow beyond its gates.
In the year 933, the King of León, Ramiro II, conquered it from the Muslims. The Muslims reclaimed it and it remained in their hands until the year 1085, when it was once again taken by King Alphonsus VI, after which the city's real development began. The charters granted by this King and by Alphonsus VII speak of a rural population, formed by Christians, Jews and Mudéjars. During the reign of Henry IV, the city expanded and the Moorish quarter was formed. The Monastery of the Hieronymites was also founded. During the era of the Catholic Monarchs, Madrid spread southwards, towards La Latina.
The Hapsburg capital
King Carlos I used to spend time in Madrid. He had the Alcázar refurbished and some aristocratic families settled in the city.
Phillip II gave the city a new appearance and introduced notable transformations. The population tripled and several civil servants settled there. He gave the city a new appearance: reorganising squares and streets (Plaza Mayor (Main Square), the streets Atocha, Segovia and Mayor) and also commissioned the construction of a new wall.
Phillip III transferred the capital to Valladolid, but embellished the city, rebuilding Plaza Mayor (Main Square) and commencing work on the Jardines del Buen Retiro gardens. Later on, the court was to return to Madrid.
Phillip IV , a great enthusiast of arts and letters, invited artists and literati to come to Madrid and commissioned the building of the last walls, with important gateways: Alcalá, Atocha, Toledo, Segovia. During the reign of the Hapsburgs, few civil palaces were built, but there were many convents and parish churches, of the importance of the Descalzas Reales (Royal Barefoot Nuns), the Encarnación (Incarnation) and the Comendadoras de Santiago (Commanders of Santiago).
Promotion by the Borbón dynasty.
In the 18th century, following the downfall of the empire and with the arrival of the Borbón dynasty, the city prospered and became more beautiful, entering one of its most splendorous phases.
During the reign ofPhillip V , the Royal Palace, the Royal Tapestry Works, the Royal Library and the Royal Academies of the Spanish Language, Medicine and History were built. Other buildings from this time are the Cuartel de Conde Duque (Conde Duque barracks) and the Puente de Toledo (Toledo Bridge). Among other buildings, Ferdinand VI commissioned the construction of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of St. Ferdinand and the Royal Salesians ensemble.
Carlos III: the great artifice of the enhancements in urban planning and of the city's splendour. He has been called the "Mayor King". He commissioned the sewage network, the street paving and also installed the first street lights. He was also responsible for the Paseo del Prado boulevard and for its beautiful Neptuno, Cibeles and Apolo fountains. He also created other boulevards, such as the Acacias, Olmos and La Florida boulevards. Other works that should be mentioned are: the Puerta de Alcalá gateway, the Museum of Natural Sciences (present-day Prado Museum), the Astronomy Observatory in the Retiro, the Royal Customs, the General Hospital, the Church of St. Francis the Great and the Botanical Gardens. The noble classes also contributed towards embellishing the city, building beautiful palaces such as the Liria, Buenavista and Villahermosa.
Carlos IV remodelled Plaza Mayor (Main Square)
In the early years of the 19th century, after the War of Independence, came the brief reign of Joseph Bonaparte, who also carried out important urban planning reforms, creating more space, light and green areas. He commissioned several squares, such as Oriente, Santa Ana, Santa Bárbara, Las Cortes, Ramales and Mostenses. During the reign of Isabel II, there was a major progressive, bourgeois urban transformation. The Disentailment Act led to the opening of new streets and squares and to the construction of markets and other buildings. Canal de Isabel II was set up to bring water supplies to the city. Other important works were Teatro Real (Royal Theatre), the National Library or the Congress of Deputies, the extension of Puerta del Sol and the inauguration of the Strawberry Train. Expansion project. In the 19th century, the city was the centre of political intrigues, conspiracies, discussions, with major growth and demographic changes. Gran Vía and Ciudad Lineal were opened up in the 20th century. The Metro was inaugurated during the reign of Alphonsus XIII, who also commissioned the University City and the Palace of Postal Services and Telecommunications. The Second Republic proposed that Madrid should grow northwards, prolonging the Castellana boulevard and commencing the construction of the Nuevos Ministerios (New Ministries) areas. During the civil war, some areas were destroyed. Afterwards, the zeal for development and the need for housing accelerated unprecedented urban growth.
The new city was created between the years 1963 and 1987, when it was adapted to vehicle traffic. Some neighbourhoods grew, modern buildings were constructed and several new neighbourhoods were created to house the growing population. Several projects, such as the extension of the Metro network, the Olympic project and the construction of emblematic buildings all speak of a new city.
Tourist and cultural information hotline
901 300 600
(From 8 to 22 H)
Barajas Airport
International arrivals
902 100 007
(From 8:00 to 20:00 H)
Chamartín Railway Station (hall)
Tel. no. 902 100 007
Mondays to Saturdays: From 8:00 to 20:00 H
Sundays and bank holidays: 9:00 - 15 H.
Atocha Railway Station (Commuter trains hall)
Tel. no. 902 100 007
From 9 to 21 H.
City Council municipal tourist office
Plaza Mayor, 3
Tel. no. 915881636. FAX 913665477
Mondays to Saturdays: From 10:00 to 20:00 H
Sundays and bank holidays: From 10:00 to 15:00 H.
City Council
http://www.munimadrid.es
Community of Madrid Website
http://www.madrid.org
Official Gazette of the Community of Madrid
http://www.madrid.org/bocm
Madrid and its Olympic Bid for 2012
http://www.madrid2012.es
About the Assembly of Madrid
http://www.asambleamadrid.es
TeleMadrid (All news about Madrid)
http://www.telemadrid.com
About the transport information system
http://www.ctm-madrid.es
All about the metro
http://www.metromadrid.es
Prado Museum
http://museoprado.mcu.es
Planetarium
http://www.planetmad.es
The zoo
http://www.zoomadrid.com
About the National Library
http://www.bne.es
About the Royal Botanical Gardens
http://www.rjb.csic.es
Spanish National Heritage
http://www.patrimonionacional.es/
