MONTSERRAT

Greetings,

Today we made the trek to Montserrat Mountain and the Abbey of Montserrat.  What a day!

Looking forward to getting this blog posted so you can enjoy the journey.  Today is just a taste of our day, we'll blog again tomorrow and add more information.

Here is some information about Monserrat Mountain and the Abbey of Montserrat below:

Website:  http://www.montserratvisita.com/en/history

Thanks Wikipedia for the information below:

Montserrat (Catalan pronunciation: [munsəˈrat]) is a multi-peaked mountain located near the city of Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain. It is part of the Catalan Pre-Coastal Range. The main peaks are Sant Jeroni (1,236 m), Montgrós (1,120 m) and Miranda de les Agulles (903 m).^[1] The Caribbean island of Montserrat was named by Christopher Columbus after the mountain.

It is well known as the site of the Benedictine abbey, Santa Maria de Montserrat, which hosts the Virgin of Montserrat sanctuary and which is identified by some ^[2] with the location of the Holy Grail in Arthurian myth.

"Montserrat" literally means "saw (serrated, like the common handsaw) mountain" in Catalan. It describes its peculiar aspect with multitude of rock formations which are visible from a great distance. The mountain is composed of strikingly pink conglomerate, a form of sedimentary rock. Montserrat is Spain's first National Park.

Guerra Civil

The Spanish Civil War saw the violent suppression of the Abbey of Montserrat. Of the 278 priests and 583 religious men and women killed in Catalonia by groups of Republican forces,^[3] 22 were monks of the Abbey of Montserrat.^[4]The Republican authorities, and particularly the authorities of the Generalitat de Catalunya, such as Lluís Companys, Ventura Gassol or Joan Casanovas, tried to stop anticlerical violence and helped many priests and religious people to hide and leave the country,^[5]

Franco era

During the rule of Francisco Franco, Santa María de Montserrat was seen as a sanctuary for scholars, artists, politicians and students; Franco's men were often waiting for wanted people a few miles down the road.^[6]

From the 1940s onward, Santa María de Montserrat Abbey was often seen as a symbol of Catalan nationalism.^[7] On 27 April 1947, a Mass was held to celebrate the Enthronement of the Virgin of Montserrat, attended by over 100,000 people.^[7] At the Mass, prayers were publicly said in the Catalan language, defying the government's language policies.^[7]

In December 1970, 300 Spanish artists and academics held a sit-in at the Abbey to protest the death sentences meted out to 16 Basque ETA activists in Burgos; in response the police sealed off the monastery.^[8][9] The protesters were eventually removed from the monastery grounds, but their actions helped convince the Francoist government to commute the death sentences.^[10]

We left the flat and walked to the metro station, then took a train to the cable car station.  It's at this station that we took a 5 minute trip up the mountain with gorgeous views.  There are four ways to ascend the mountain:  foot, car, cable car, and cog rail car.  Our plans are to return to the mountain and hike several of the trails. 

BELOW:  A photo from the cable car 

BELOW:  We're getting closer!

BELOW:  This is a photo from the rail station/cable car station looking up to the Abbey

BELOW:  Map of the Abbey

BELOW:  The cable car station on the mountain

BELOW:  Interior of the Abbey of Montserrat, Black Madonna in the alcove (lower center of photo)

BELOW:  We got to listen to the Montserrat Boy's Choir sing--beautiful, simply beautiful.  This choir is one of the oldest boys choir in Europe--dating back to the 14th century.

Check out this site:  http://www.montserratvisita.com/en/culture/escolania-boys-choir

If you want to listen to the choir just click here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPGgDfO6yXo

BELOW:  Stained glass window in the Basilica (opposite the alter)

BELOW:  A close up of the alter

BELOW:  This is a photo of the alter in a side chapel in the Basilica.  I'd never seen an alter piece like this.  There are close-ups below.

BELOW:  This is the top of the archway as you enter the Basilica Square

BELOW:  This is part of the original Basilica dating back to the 12th century (not the bricks)

BELOW:  Basilica square, overlooking the way up

BELOW:  The entrance to the Basilica

BELOW:  We stayed for several hours and as the temperature dropped after 1:30 pm, few people stayed and we were able to take photos such as this

BELOW:  Although there was haze, you can see the Pyrenees

BELOW:  A little pond, there were palm trees on the mountain

BELOW:  This is the area (to the left of the Basilica where the Benedictine Monks work and live.  The Benedictine Order has a library with 300,000 books in it.  Also, Montserrat is a place where pilgrims come as part of several caminos (main road/main way).  If you want to read more check out:  http://caminoways.com/montserrat-catalonias-holy-mountain-on-the-camino-catalan

BELOW:  Now for a few pics from Gary