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Our Viator guide collected us at the top and gave us an overview of the events of the day. With time to explore on our own Dave and I chose to visit the Museum of Montserrat which surprisingly holds an impressive collection of more than 1,300 works of art from artists such as Picasso, Dali, Monet, Rusinol, Caravaggio and El Greco. This tiny museum on top of the craggy mountain was an unexpected and pleasant surprise. The Benedictine abbey, founded in 1025 by Abbot Oliba of Ripoll, still functions today as an abbey of the Order of St. Benedictine with about 79 monks in residence. Located high in the craggy mountains of the Pyrenees this is a spiritual symbol and religious center for Catalonia and Catholic pilgrims. “According to tradition” in approximately the year 890, near a hermit monastery, shepherds noticed a “dazzling light” coming from a cave, accompanied by an “angelic melody”. The shepherds discovered the miraculous statue which, according to Fr. Andre, was carved in wood by St. Luke around 15 A.D. and later brought to Spain by the Bishop of Barcelona. In 718 the statue was hidden in a cave in the mountains to protect it from Saracen infidels. Eventually the Capella de la Santa Cova was built around this statue becoming the monastery and place of worship it is today. Inside the basilica is a long nave decorated by numerous artists and sculptors including a young Antoni Gaudi. The altar is carved from local rock and decorated with enamel and silver. The famous Virgin of Montserrat, locally referred to a La Moreneta, little dark-skinned one, or the Black Madonna, is located just above the main altar, visible from the seats in the congregation. She has been the patron saint of Catalonia since 1881 and as such, attracts many devout pilgrims. The Throne Room, or Chamber of the Virgin, which stands above the altar, is decorated in silver and gold that is lit by lamps to make the room and the seated Black Madonna, draped in gold, shimmer in the light. Surrounding the virgin and leading to and from this room is a series of magnificent gold and jeweled mosaic tiles covering the walls and ceilings depicting biblical stories. I would have liked the opportunity to spend more time absorbing the atmospheric beauty but the crowd pressed on. To get to the Throne Room we stood in a long line outside in the del Abat Argeric courtyard and slowly, filed through one by one on the right side of the church. From there we went up the back stairs around a narrow passageway to an alabaster portal. The entrance and room was decorated in various beautiful biblical scenes, but there is no time to explore because finally, briefly, we passed in front of the iconic virgin, said a prayer, touch her hand that is holding an orb extended through a plexiglas protection, took a photo and proceeded back down to the nave. The Escolania Boy's Choir is one of Europe’s oldest boys choirs, originally dating back to the 14th century. Along with their religious and regular academic lessons, these choirboys receive a high level of musical training. As a result of their reputation, they have traveled extensively giving recital tours, but hearing them here, inside the basilica was a really special treat. We had wanted to time our visit to hear this choir and also see the Black Madonna, there was very little time to do both. We ended up sacrificing good seats for the choir to see the virgin first but I think it was worth the effort. The angelic voices, accompanied by the deep resonance of a pipe organ, filled the church and brought a heavenly hush to those in attendance. I bought a CD of one of the boys’ choruses but I don’t think it comes close to the sounds echoing inside the vaulted dome of the church honoring the Virgin Mary. Catalan poet Werdaguer wrote a hymn to the Virgin Mary: “The mountains were cut by angels in order to build a palace for the Virgin Mary among them”. This hymn is sung daily during services in the monastery.…
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Date of experience: November 2019
3 Helpful votes
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We took the train from Barcelona and then the tram which took us up the mountain. Christian church/Abbey on top of mountain with many hiking trials. Abbey houses the Black Madonna and also has a performance at 1pm every day by one of the oldest boys choir in Europe. We packed into the church about 20 mins before the boys choir performed in order to get some seats closer to the front. The church was packed for the performance which lasted about 15 mins. We queued to get in to see the Black Madonna which is housed inside the church accessible by a separate corridor. They have a restuarant on site which was very reasonably priced and good to get something warm to eat on a cook. The tram going up to the Joan site was shut for a few months for maintenance so we couldn't go up. A nice day trip out of Barcelona. We left by the same method we came. We got back into downtown Barcelona around 8pm just in time for dinner. Train and tram runs every hour or so…
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Date of experience: April 2020
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Somewhere between mountains, abbey placed. This is a nice place, but the main difference is outside. The mountains seems like stone giants. You can see them and they changes depend on angle, you look on them. On the way, you can find small market with cheese and other good things.…
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Date of experience: April 2019
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The first monastery on Montserrat was built by Benedictine monks in 1025. Legend has it that, in the 12th century, men saw a light coming from a cave in this mountain. Investigating, they found a statue of the Virgin Mary, but when they started to carry her down to the village, she burst into flames. They returned her to the cave and built a church for her. This is now the “Black Madonna,” enshrined in the Basilica of the monastery and patron saint of Catalunya. We booked a tour through our cruise ship and made the trip to Montserrat via bus. The drive from Barcelona (1 ½ hours) through the mountains was beautiful. We arrived at 10:30 a.m. and made our way through the crowds of people, past a lovely farmer’s market selling cheese, honey, and special cakes made in the area. Climbing the hill, we entered the city gate, and continued uphill to the plaza, where we had spectacular views of the surrounding mountains, the cable car that you can ride to the very top of the mountain, and the valleys below. As we crossed under the archway to enter the cloister, the guide pointed out a bricked-in archway in the right-hand wall—the only remaining gate from the 1025 monastery. We stepped into the center of the cloister, dominated by a modern wire sculpture of a human head (temporary exhibition) and were suddenly aware of the dichotomy between the ancient and the modern in this place. Monks’ chambers lined the sidewalls of the cloister and the massive entrance to the church stood in front of us. A long line was already forming along the right side of the cloister with people who wanted to climb up a back stairway to stand right in front of the Black Madonna. We chose not to do that, since it takes hours in line to reach her. Instead, we managed to get into the church just as the crowds from mass were exiting and were able to get a few unobstructed pictures of the main altar and the Black Madonna—before they let people from the line stand in front of her. In addition to the beautiful marble altar, the church had magnificent stained-glass windows along the side walls and an incredible rose window over the choir loft. There were also amazing bronze and silver lamps of different stained-glass and jeweled designs hanging just above head level along the aisles. Unfortunately, their incredible boys choir was not singing in the church the day we were there, but we did get to hear a recording of them when we checked out the museum and the video presentation showing the history of the monastery. While visiting the enormous gift shop, with every religious souvenir imaginable, including black madonnas in every shape and size, we sampled several of the liqueurs produced by the monks, which were also for sale. One last view of the beautiful mountains and valley below from the lookout station near the parking lot, and we were back on the bus. The driver took a different route back to Barcelona which allowed us to see different, but equally incredible, mountain scenery. Despite the crowds, it was wonderful tour.…
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Date of experience: May 2019
2 Helpful votes
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This mountain is stunning, Naturally form and the Montserrat was build within this mountain. Beautiful church inside, saw ‘Black Madonna’ is just absolutely amazing
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Date of experience: March 2020
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