Today, most of the group went in a van to Monserrat Monastery right after breakfast. It is about and hour ride from our hotel up the mountain. The road up to the monastery is not for the timid. It was hairpin turns and switchbacks all the way up, but fortunately for us, we had a capable driver and not much traffic, As you couldn’t see the next level of road, I couldn’t take a photo for you. You would need a drone for that.
We have had the perfect weather so far, and today was no exception. The air on the mountain was cool but I still didn’t need my jacket. It was a bit foggy though. Here is our first views of the monastery from where we parked.
Montserrat Monastery is located at the heart of Montserrat Natural Park. Within Montserrat Natural Park there are five different areas: Montserrat, Marganell, Monistrol, El Bruc and Collbato. We saw the rack railway and the cable car. I would think you could find out to access them if you didn’t want to do that curling roadway. You can see some of the fog blowing across the rocks.
It is not known exactly when Monks first came to Montserrat and began to build a Monastery. However, it is believed that in the ninth century four of the Chapels were built on Montserrat Mountain (St Mary’s, St. Iscle’s, St.Peter’s and St. Martin’s). It is believed that these were inhabited by hermit Monks who lived a solitary life of prayer. Today only one of these Chapels is still standing – St.Iscle.
In 1025 the Abbot of Ripoli and Bishop of Vic, Oliba, officially founded the Monastery of Montserrat. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, a Romanesque church was built in Montserrat containing a carving of the image of the Mother of God. Over this period pilgrims began to come to Montserrat.
Throughout the following centuries Montserrat’s importance grew: in 1223 there is the first account of a boy’s choir at Montserrat, in 1409 the Monastery became an independent abbey, and in 1490 Montserrat’s printing press was installed. In 1493 the Monastery’s word was spread even further when one of the hermits from Montserrat – Bernal Boil – went on a voyage to America with Christopher Columbus. One of the islands in the Antilles was named after Montserrat, and this began the spread of the worship of the Mother of God of Montserrat in the Americas.
In the 19th century Montserrat hit some troubling times. In 1811 – 1812 Montserrat was destroyed by Napoleon’s army. Then in 1835, the Land Acts meant that the Monastery lost all of its property and all but one Monk left the Monastery. However, in 1844 the Monks returned to Montserrat, and in 1858 the reconstruction of Montserrat began.
Again, in the twentieth century, the Monks experienced turbulent times during the Spanish Civil War (1936 – 1939). During this period the Monks were forced to leave the Monastery. Over the period of the war, 23 Monks were killed. Fortunately, the autonomous government of Catalonia managed to save Montserrat and free it from looting and destruction. After the war, the Monks returned and continued with the reconstruction of the Monastery.
In 1947 there was the Celebration of the Enthronement of the Image of the Mother of God (The Black Madonna). Since this time, the Monastery has gone from strength to strength. The new museum has been added, in 1982 Pope John Paul II visited Montserrat, the Basilica has been restored, and the entire complex has been built to cater for the large number of pilgrims who come to Montserrat each year.
There are about eighty monks who are based at Montserrat Monastery. They follow the Order of St. Benedict and are linked to two other Monasteries – El Miracle and St Micheal of Cuixa. Their life is devoted to prayer and work. The Monks can be distinguished from other orders of Monks by their philosophy that there is an importance to everything that every person is. They are keen to welcome people from all walks of life to the Monastery.
The Monks listen to the voice of God through both the Holy Scriptures, developments in the Church and what happens in the world on a larger scale.
The Monks are involved in many areas of work. Some are involved in the organization internally of the Monastery. Others are researchers or teachers in fields of academia including history, theology, Bible studies, liturgy and music. Other Monks work in the shrine itself – they welcome religious groups to the Monastery, make speeches and generally ensure the upkeep of the Monastery. Other Monks are involved in work with the famous Montserrat L’Escolania Choir. They teach the boys in the choir, write music research music and produce recordings.
After you look at the statue of the black Madonna, you turn around and look out over the church.
We went around the outside of the monastery and then entered into the church.
After looking at the church itself, we headed back outside
This incredible rock formation is famous for its many jagged peaks, which inspired its name: Mont Serrat means ‘serrated mountain’ in Catalan. It owes its astounding appearance to events that unfolded some 45 million years ago, back when most of the area was submerged underwater and formed part of a large delta that poured into the sea. The rivers that formed the delta carried large rocks and pebbles that gathered in the delta itself, as did limestone as a result of decaying organic material. Then, some 25 million years ago, there was a shift in the earth’s plates resulting in the sea being pushed further out and the area around Montserrat being pushed upwards. As a result, the land was exposed to air, leaving the formation of rocks and limestone to suffer the effects of the weather. Over the course of the next few million years, the rainwater and wind carved shapes into the limestone, which was relatively soft compared to the stone, producing the incredible system of curves and peaks.
We headed back to Barcelona. It was only an hour drive where we grabbed a quick lunch (I had an omelet w cheese sandwich). Unusual but good. We then took a short break before meeting up again with Judy for our afternoon walk to the Born area of Barcelona. It is only a couple of blocks walking from our hotel. You can see that Barcelona is prepping for Christmas
Carmela was created from a photo of a Barcelona teenager. Plensa scanned the photo to create a three dimensional image which he then compressed in one axes before casting it in iron.
The result is an enigmatic flattened sculpture which, when viewed from the right angle, looks like a large three-dimensional bust.
Domenech i Montaner is responsible for some of the city’s most stunning architecture, including this red brick beauty – a paragon of Modernisme . My photo doesn’t do it justice – as it was the wrong time of day and trying to shot across a narrow street.
We continued to walk around the Born area with all the little streets and shops.
Giants and big heads. In Spanish and Catalan festivals you can often see giants and big heads. Giants are papier-maché figures. The giants are carried by ‘geganters’ which means ‘giant-carrier.’ The giants are hollow papier-maché figures usually three or four meters meters tall that show the upper part of the figure and have a skirt covering the lower part.
Giants and big heads can be seen at most Catalan festivals in the opening “cercavila” parade, which literally means ‘around the village.’ Districts and neighborhoods each have their own festival figures and during the big festivals, like the annual Merce Festival in Barcelona, all the giants and other figures of the city come together for the big parades.
We headed back to our hotel for a short rest before heading out with another lady in our group from…..St Pete. Yes, Florida St Pete. She joined Gloria and myself for ….. Paella. Seafood Paella to be exact. As you can see it would have been too much for Gloria and myself. Yum. Afterwards, we waddled back to our hotel and I started working on this. Now it is time for bed. We have one more day in Barcelona.
Postcards from Sue and friends 