LOS JERONIMOS, Exterior

Hi, I'm Alyson, your personal guide. Together with MyWoWo, I'd like to welcome you to one of the wonders of the world.

Today I'll accompany you through "Los Jeronimos".

Los Jeronimos is one of the most beautiful churches in Madrid!

You are now standing behind the Prado Museum, where the church of San Jerónimo el Real, or simply "Los Jeronimos" dominates the skyline as the only Gothic building in Madrid, even if it also has Renaissance influences. It has always been one of the various Spanish kings' favorite places of worship, and is still often mentioned in the news today.

Its history dates back to the mid-1400s when King Henry IV of Castile ordered the construction of a monastery near the Manzanares River. Since the area was unhealthy, the following century the Catholic Kings transferred it to the elevated part of the city, where one of the two cloisters and the church before you now stand. Unfortunately, the monastery was first plundered by Napoleon's troops, and then by the English allies. Thirty years later it was transformed into a military barracks and later into a hospital....