ROYAL CHAPEL, Granada

2 more images

The Royal Chapel is an interesting building in the El Centro area of Granada. More specifically it is located between the old Fish Market and the Church of Sagrario. Carlos V buried almost all the dead of the family in the Royal Chapel, including Ferdinand and Isabella, Philip the Handsome and Joanna the Mad, his wife Elizabeth, their children and Princess Maria of Portugal, wife of Prince Philip. It was constructed in the early 1500's by the Catholic Monarchs as a place to bury their dead.

There are some very elegant tombs inside. Unfortunately pictures are not allowed inside.

March-August:
Monday - Saturday: 10:15-13:30, 16:00-19:30
Sunday & holidays: 11:00-13:30, 15:30-19:30

Admission
Adults- 3.5 Euros
Over 65 2.5 Euros
Children 10 Free

3 more images

The conquest of Granada by the Catholic Monarchs in 1492 was the most important success in their reign. It meant the union of most of the territory of the Peninsula under the same rule after almost 800 years. That’s why they wanted to be buried in Granada. For that, they ordered the construction of the Royal Chapel, which would be their mausoleum. Also their daughter Juana I, her husband Felipe (Philip the Handsome) and the Monarchs’ oldest grandson, Infante Miguel, are buried in the Royal Chapel.

The Royal Chapel is attached to the Cathedral. It was built in Gothic style. The iron-work grille that separates the royal mausoleum and the people’s place is all a masterpiece.

The chapel has the shape of a Latin cross. The funerary monument of Isabel and Fernando, the Catholic Monarchs, was sculpted in Carrara marble by Domenico Fancelli. Beside is the monument of Juana and Felipe, sculpted by Bartolomé Ordóñez. The coffins are in a crypt which is acceded from the chapel. In the chapel also stands a magnificent altarpiece.

After the chapel you will visit the museum, that contains the scepter and the crown of the Queen Isabel de Castilla, the sword of the King Fernando de Aragón, other personal belongings of the monarchs and their collection of paintings of Flemish artists.

The chapel contains the tombs of the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella and their daughter Joanna the Mad and her husband Phillip the Fair.

It is surprisingly light inside because of the white stone. The tombs are made of white marble, and each of the effigies has a lion at its feet.

It is possible to go down to the crypt to see the lead caskets containing the actual remains, but I didn’t bother. There is also a small museum containing amongst other things Isabella’s crown and sceptre, and Ferdinand’s robes, as well as works of art from Isabella’s collection.

Photography is not permitted inside.

Admission €3.50

Open 10.30-1.30 and 4.00-7.30, 11-1.30 and 4.00-7.30 on Sundays

The Capilla Real is the Royal Chapel which houses the remains of several Spanish Monarchs, in particular those of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand, who had previously been buried in the church at the Alhambra.

It was 1504 when the couple decided that Granada would be their final resting place, so they decided to have a Royal Chapel built for them. Construction works, in Gothic style, started immediately but Isabella died in 1516, a year before the Chapel was completed, and she was then buried at the Alhambra.

In the chapel, beside their mortal remains, you can also find the bodies of their heirs, Joanna I and Philip I. Other Royal remains are those of Prince Michael and Empress Isabella with her children Ferdinand and John.

Photography is not allowed in the Chapel, but noone is really watching... so be carweful and don't use flash.

Capilla Real (Royal Chapel) lies adjacent to la Catedral de Granada. Both were designed by the same architect and built simulataneously at the beginning of the 16th century, though Capilla Real was completed first and is more typically Gothic in style. La Capilla Real is famous for containing the remains of doña Isabel (la Católica) and don Fernando, as well as exhibiting some masterpieces by famous artists and sculptors.

The Catholic Monarchs founded the Royal Chapel for their own tombs. Designs for the Royal Chapel began in 1504 and it was built between 1505 and 1521 by Enrique Egas. Situated next to the cathedral, it contains the tombs of the monarchs Isabel and Ferdinand and Juana and Felipe.

Los mismos Reyes Católicos la mandaron construir como mausoleo. El diseño lo empezó Enrique Egas en 1504 y su construcción fue entre 1505 y 1517. A parte de los Reyes Católicos, también se encuentran los mausoleos de Juana la Loca y de Felipe el hermoso.

2 more images

It was traditional for monarchs and important citizens to make preparations for elaborate internments. The Catholic monarchs had built the church of St John of the Kings in Toledo as their intended resting place, but their conquest of Granada altered their plans. They built the Royal chapel to celebrate their victory and to give thanks to God for this. Isabel decreed that her final resting place would be Granada, and that her estate would fund the building.

Built 1505 -1521 by master builders J G de Hontanon and Juan de Alava. The Renaissance door by Juan Garcia de Praves is the only exterior to be seen. It was personally ordered by Carlos V in 1526. The chapel is claimed to be 'one of the last and finest fruits of Gothic architecture in Spain'

to be continued



Open April - Oct 10.30 - 1300hrs , 1600 -1900 Mon - Sat.
11.00 - 1300hrs, 1600 -1900 Sun

Nov - March 10.30 -1300hrs, 15.30 -18.30 Mon - Sat
1100 - 1300hrs, 15.30 -18.30 Sun.

Closed Good Friday.
Admission 3 Euros
Photography Not Allowed.
Booklets for sale at ticket office.
Gift Shop.

3 more images

The Capilla Real, or Royal Chapel, was commissioned by Ferdinand and Isabella to be their final resting place as at the time they thought the reconquest of Granada would be their highest achievement although they are much better known, at least in the US, for their role in Christopher Columbus' discovery of the New World. It was finished in 1521, after they died, their bodies were moved here after the Chapel was finished. You can see their tombs, along with those of their daughter, Joanna the mad (Juana la Loca), Joanna's husband Phillip the Handsome (Felipe El Hermoso), and Ferdinand and Isabella's grandson, Miguel. The tombs of Ferdinand and Isabella are slightly lower than the others, reportedly because Phillip was the son of Holy Roman emperor Maxmillian.

I don't have any pictures of the interior, I believe there was a no photograph policy inside. Or maybe I was just lazy ;-)

There's a small museum at the end of the visit with Ferdinand's sword, Isabella's sceptre and crown and some artworks including a Botticelli.

Entrance to the Royal Chapel is separate from the Cathedral, admission is 3E. Both the Cathedral and the Royal Chapel close midday from about 1:30-3:30 pm (4 pm in the summer).

"Catholic kings" Ferdinand and Isabella, and also their daughter Huana the Mad and her husband Phillip are buried in Capila Real. Here it is possible to admire a thin groove golden fencings of XVI century and the museum of treasuries (sacristia). The crown of Isabella, the Ferdinand's sword are exhibits of the museum. Also it is possible to see the fine picturesque collection including works of medieval Spanish artists, and also Botticelli's and Memling's masterpieces.

The Royal chapel (Capila Real) which was constructed earlier is also included in the complex of the Cathedral. An entrance into the chapel is from Gran Via de Colon. The chapel is constructed in the late Gothic style under the order of Ferdinand and Isabella after the capture of Granada. They are burried there.