Madrid｜The Royal Palace and the Cathedral: those golden luxury and the supreme Holy Spirit

On a high slope in downtown Madrid, there is an ancient Egyptian Temple of Debord.

From the temple, you can see the most beautiful sunset in Madrid, overlooking the Manzanares River and the city scenery on the other side, as well as the Royal Palace and the Cathedral of Madrid.

Spain is the first stop of my European travel, and Madrid is the first European city I visited.

The fantasies about European palaces and churches began to materialize during this first trip to Europe.

The status of Catholicism in ancient Europe can be known from the ancient palaces and cathedrals in various European countries - such as Madrid.

The Royal Palace and the Cathedral of Madrid are in the same place, and the square between them is the Plaza de Armas.

In the Spanish mainland and the places it has colonized, there is an "Armours Square" in the center of important cities, which is a place for weapons depots and military reviews.

The palace is still owned by the royal family. At this time, there was only a flag on the top of the palace, indicating that the king was not here today.

The Cathedral of Our Lady of Almudena, across the square from the palace, was the place where the royal family held major ceremonies such as enthronement and weddings in the old days.

There are side corridors on both sides of the Plaza de Armas. One side of the side corridor faces the city and opens the tourist entrance, and the other side faces the Manzanares River.

When I first saw the European royal palace, I felt it was shorter than expected - after all, the palace is not a castle.

The second thing is that it feels wide. The palace with only three floors is more than 100 meters wide. At that time, I thought that Versailles would be like this.

During the period when the Jewish Moors ruled Spain, the capital of Spain was still Toledo, and the Royal Palace in Madrid was originally a defensive turret.

The turret was renovated many times and officially became a castle in the 14th century.

It was later designated as a royal palace by Carlos III - a royal palace with 3,418 rooms. It is indeed a palace that is large in size~

The royal palace has experienced historical hardships. In the 18th century It was destroyed by fire and later rebuilt in the style of the Louvre.

Therefore, the shadows and architectural details of French palaces can be seen in the palace.

Curved roof arch angles, round windows, golden outlines...

There are also murals everywhere~

In every detail As you can see above, the palace is full of French luxury.

Stepping into the banquet hall, countless candlelights and carvings make visitors marvel and make their souls sigh: How virtuous and capable are human beings to be able to eat in such a place~

The large number of collections, paintings, weapons, and clocks collected in the palace cannot be photographed or captured one by one. They can only be retained in the memory of luxury.

The sky in Madrid is very blue, but the clouds are very thick. After coming out of the palace, the clouds floated together, and it seemed that the sky was about to change.

As one of the very few European palaces, the Royal Palace of Madrid is still owned by the royal family today. While it is open to tourists, the king will occasionally come here to do business.

When the king comes to the palace, flags will be hung on the two flagpoles on top of the palace.

The Plaza de Armas in front of the Royal Palace, on the side of the Manzanares River, is a viewing corridor.

On the side corridor, you can see a good view of Madrid city scenery.

Since the palace and the church themselves are located on the Roman city wall, they are higher than the city itself and can overlook the city.

The status of Catholicism in ancient Europe can be seen from the ancient palaces and cathedrals in various European countries. The cathedrals of many capitals are near royal palaces, or even inside royal castles.

The size of the church is no less than that of the royal palace, or even higher. This shows the dignity and majesty of religion and church.

The royal palace and the main church face each other across the Plaza de Armas. This picture is very impressive, but unfortunately the photography skills are not good.

The king’s coronation and marriage require the execution of the bishop in order to be recognized by the people. So, Who has more power?

The world-famous wedding ceremony of Philip VI of Spain, the current king and former crown prince, and his civilian princess was held in this main church.

The church was conceived in the 16th century, but was built in the second half of the 19th century. After experiencing historical hardships, it was finally completed and opened to tourists in 1993.

It is said that the top of the church is the best place to overlook Madrid, but unfortunately it was not open at the time.

Although the church is only separated from the palace by a square, the main entrance of the church is only accessible to the king, similar to the Forbidden City in Beijing. The entrance open to visitors is outside the square.

As an author who loves Gothic cathedrals, it was my first time to step into a European church and look up at the sky-high vault. I was filled with ecstasy and reverence.

The Spanish Civil War not only caused the church to experience a long suspension of construction, but also changed the architectural style from the original neo-Gothic to Baroque. The church has both Gothic solemn straight lines and Baroque arc vaults.

Walking into the church, it was so quiet that only the sound of the eardrums being hit by the air could be heard, and gentle prayers could be heard in the distance.

The glass window with the saint painted on it filters the afternoon sunshine, spreading holiness and serenity, with an indifference that looks down upon the common people.

There were only a few tourists in the church, and they consciously walked softly and talked.

As the main church of the Catholic Archdiocese of Madrid, Almudena Church, as its name suggests, its patron saint is the patron saint of Madrid - Our Lady of Almudena, which means Our Lady of the Barn. So the church is about Our Lady.

There is the Virgin on the altar of the church.

The statue in the church is about the Virgin.

The paintings in the church are also about the Virgin.

The author, who loves both Gothic churches and classical music, always looks for pipe organs when visiting churches. The size and sound of this instrument are shocking.

The organ of the Almudena Church is very gorgeous, echoing the church's colorful decoration wrapped in gold wire. The author saw a Gatsby-like luxury in the solemnity.

Compared with the palace, the structure of the main church is much simpler. After quietly admiring the church, we left quietly.

In Madrid, we visited European palaces and churches for the first time. Although full of curiosity and unknown, to this day, we still know very little about Europe; although taking pictures is naive and clumsy, not many beautiful pictures have been left behind. But these impressions about Madrid will always be the most beautiful colors, the most profound and shining fragments in travel memories.

——End——

About Madrid:

"Madrid | Impression: Colorful Time in Those Classical Squares (Part 1)"

< p> "Madrid｜Impression: The colorful time in those classical squares (Part 2)"

"Madrid｜Retiro Park: Under the warm winter sun, that "flower falls in a dream""

"Madrid | Food Memories (Part 1) Food Market"

"Madrid | Food Memories (Part 2) Those Restaurants"

"Madrid | (Hotel) Staying at 200 Feel the elegance of a city in its 1980s buildings"

The Sloth Bear has written a lot. If you like this travelogue, just follow the special topic "The Travels of the Gods" or the anthology "The Sloth Bear's Travels - Europe" Right~