The Ground Floor

The Ground Floor of the building was designed by Juan Guas (1433-1496) an architect who worked on Toledo’s cathedral. San Juan de los Reyes is a prime example of the gothic flemish school of architecture. Construction began in 1477 and Juan Guas worked on this level of the monastery right up until his death in 1492 shortly after the construction was completed. Additonal work was continued under the masters Antón and Enrique Egas and Simón de Colonia who finished the building in the sixteenth century, during the reign of Carlos 1 (Charles) of Spain. Construction of the church was completed by Juan Guas before 1492, indicated by the absence of the pomegranate (granada) decorative symbol, which can be seen in the cloisters - the lower cloisters having been completed on 25th November 1504, the day Isabel la Catolica died.

In 1809 the monastery was badly damaged at the hands of Napoleon’s troops, during their occupation of Toledo. A devastating fire destroyed part of the cloisters and one of the domes of the church. The seizure and pillaging of ecclesiastical assets, the explusion of the then current incumbents of the monastery, the Fransiscans who had lived in the monastery since the end of the XV century (they had had a presence in Toledo since 1219), together these events led to an ever greater deterioration of the monastery. Restoration work which began in 1883 was directed by the architect Arturo Mélida and was not completed until 1967. The Fransiscan Order did not return to the monastery until 1954, and indeed returned to a much smaller structure built specifically to house the fraternity.

Go to the Galeria section to view the artsitic and architectural richness of this stunning church.

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HISTORICAL ARTISTIC NOTES   Ground Floor   Exterior   Interior