Montserrat in Catalonia, Spain stands for a lot of things - a magnificent mountain, a beautiful National Park and a gorgeous monastery complex.
It is Spain's first National Park. The mountain's name literally means "saw (or serrated) mountain" in Catalan. It describes its peculiar landscape with multitude of rock formations that are visible from a great distance.
Here is a view to the mountain and the monastery from Tibidabo hill in Barcelona - Catalonia's capital:
Montserrat is just a short trip from Barcelona by car, train, or by bus. We chose option number two for our little journey and took the R5 train from the station at Plaza de España to Aeri de Montserrat (at the foot of the mountain). Then we made our way to the monastery by cable car.
It's clever to plan your visit in advance, as they offer different combined tickets, that could save you time and money. I find the directions, given in the online Montserrat tourist guide, to be very accurate and helpful.
Right after you reach the top you will be amazed by the breathtaking views ...
Over time wind and rain shaped the mountain to form “needles”, or monolithic rocks with strange and varied forms. People's imagination sees human or animal shapes in some of the peaks, giving them names and inventing legends to explain their fantastic origins.
The landscape of the mountain reminds me of the Belogradchik Rocks in Bulgaria, or Meteora in Greece.
People speak of Montserrat as an "Open Air Museum", because of the numerous sculptural works of art, the architectural value of the monastery and the important historical and cultural heritage, accumulated over its millennium-long existence.
Santa Maria de Montserrat is a Benedictine abbey. It is notable for enshrining the image of the Virgin of Montserrat. It is a beautiful 12th century Romanesque polychrome carving, popularly known as La Moreneta (the Dark One), due to the dark colour of Her skin.
Part of the complex is a museum, housing works of art by many prominent painters and sculptors, including works by El Greco, Dalí, Picasso and more.
There is also a publishing house (The Publicacions de l'Abadia de Montserrat), where one of the oldest presses in the world is still running with its first book published in 1499.
Montserrat is home to one of the oldest boys’ choirs in Europe. It performs during religious ceremonies and communal prayers in the basilica.
Today, the monastery has been modernised to continue attending to the needs of pilgrims as well as to welcome thousand of tourists a year.
And you might be interested in the farmers’ market stalls, at the beginning of the Escolania Promenade. Sellers invite you to sample their products like cheese, different kinds of marmalade, sweets and liquor.
Here is what I bought for myself :)
Unfortunately for me, we visited Montserrat only for couple of hours, when it really should be at least a two-day experience. I'll be sure to go back there one day ...
