Visiting the Royal Chapel of Granada (what you should know)
The Royal Chapel is one of those highlights that´s so historically significant that it has to be visited. I´ll admit however that it isn´t our favorite of Granada´s highlights. I´ll write about that below.
Thankfully you can visit it for free if you plan ahead. I´ll write about that as well.
The History behind Granada´s Royal Chapel
The Royal Chapel holds the remains of the two most consequential figures in Spanish history – the ¨Catholic Monarchs¨. The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon. Prior to their marriage on October 19 1469, most of the Iberian peninsula was ruled by two crowns: those of Castile and Aragon. Their marriage brought the two together (Isabella was 18, Ferdinand 17) and marked the unification of what is now Spain.
Note: The term¨Catholic Monarchs¨was bestowed upon Isabella and Ferdinand by Pope Alexander VI in 1494 for their defence of the Catholic faith
Isabella and Ferdinand´s goals were to extend their rule over all the kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula and to unite the peninsula under Catholicism. They were aggressive in pursuing these goals, establishing a Holy Office of the Inquisition in 1478 which was put in place to ensure that all Jews and Muslims who had converted to Catholicism didn´t revert back to their previous faiths. Thousands were tortured, executed, had their property confiscated or were expelled.
In 1492, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain – Granada – was defeated. It marked the end of the Reconquesta, the 780-year struggle to end Islamic rule over the Iberian Peninsula.
In the same year, all Jews were expelled from Spain and the Inquisition doubled up in its efforts to find and punish those practicing heresy.
Isabella and Ferdinand were also responsible for contracting Christopher Columbus (an Italian) in April of 1492 to sail west and claim lands for Spain. The discovery of the New World led to Spain being the major power in Europe from the end of the 15th century to the mid-17th century.
The Royal Chapel
Having conquered Granada, Isabella and Ferdinand decided to make the city their home. They also decided that it would be their burial place and it was made official by royal decree in 1504. The Royal Chapel (Capilla Real) was built between 1505 and 1517.
The Royal Chapel is in the same complex of buildings as the Granada Cathedral (which was built starting in 1523) but, surprisingly, the two buildings are independent of each other. They´re also built in different styles: the Cathedral is built in Renaissance style, the Royal Chapel in Gothic style. They both stand where the main mosque of Granada used to be.
Note: you are not allowed to take photos or video inside the Royal Chapel. All photos below are not mine and I´ve given credit to the appropriate websites for use of their photos.
Visiting the Royal Chapel
When you first enter, you´ll step into the church. It is beautiful, with a Gothic ribbed vault. Going through you´ll see a highly ornamented grille.
On the other side of the grille is the transept where you´ll see the highlight of the Royal Chapel: the tombs. They´re made from alabaster and were designed by the Italian sculptor Domenico Fancelli. You might get confused by the different tombs: The tombs of Isabelle and Ferdinand are higher and you´ll see lions at their feet. The other two tombs are of Joanna of Castile ¨The mad¨ (the daughter of Isabella and Ferdinand) and her husband, Philip I of Castile ¨the handsome¨.
You´ll see some steps leading down under the tombs. If you go down you´ll see a room with very simple crypts. These are the crypts holding the bodies of the Catholic Monarchs and their family. In the middle are Isabella and Ferdinand, on the side are those of Joanna, Philip and of Michael (Miguel), the grandchild of the Catholic Monarchs.
Here in the chapel you´ll also see the main altar. Built between 1520-1522, it is considered to be the biggest Plateresque altarpiece carved in Spain.
After the chapel, you continue to the Sacristy-museum which contains a lot of art from the 1500´s.
Some honest thoughts about the Royal Chapel
I think the Royal Chapel is impressive but what really makes it a place you have to visit is the history. You´re in the place where Isabella and Ferdinand, the two most important figures in Spanish history, are buried.
Although you have to visit the Royal Chapel, I´m not sure that it´s a great value experience. Entry is 5 Euros per person. No video or photography is allowed and you´ll see a sign telling you that every five meters (in addition to a security guard who´s only job is keeping an eye out for potential photographers and videographers). Seeing everything will take about 20 minutes unless you like to linger and read up about the art. It was uncomfortably warm in there when we visited (late August) and we honestly felt like getting out by the time we got to the Sacristy-museum.
I understand that it´s a place of reverence and that maybe photos and video have no place. But it honestly takes away from the enjoyment. We always like to have something to remember a place by. We bought a few postcards but they were low quality.
I won´t tell you not to visit because you almost have to because of the historical significance. But I´ll be honest in saying that we didn´t come out of it having loved the experience.
Seeing the Royal Chapel for Free
Happily for us we had booked ourselves some free tickets.
The Royal Chapel has free tickets for Wednesday afternoons (our appointment time was 3:30) but they have to be reserved in advance. In our case we booked 3 weeks in advance.
How to get your free tickets: Go to the this link. You’ll see 6 of Granada’s tourism highlights including the Cathedral (Catedral), Royal Chapel, Sacromonte Abbey (Abadía del Sacromonte), Monastery of St. Jerome (Monasterio de San Jerónimo), and Church of Saint Nicolas + Tower (Iglesia de San Nicolás y su Torre). NOTE: you can actually get free tickets for ALL of these sites, you just have to be prepared that you have to book them a few weeks to a month in advance. Using that link I was able to book 5 of the 6 highlights for free (The only one that seemed to have no available dates was the Church of Saint Nicolas).
Related: The Cartuja Monastery, Granada (and seeing it for free!)
This tickets are not available anymore. I tried and no luck. Any information why?
I would try again and again…In Spain things often down for no reason. Could be anything from the website not being updated to someone being on vacation and not updating things.