Getting to the Abbey of Santa Maria de Montserrat has an element of drama. We started with a metro ride to the train station, then a train to the cable car station, and finally a ride up the mountain in the little yellow box.
It affords a good view. “Montserrat” is, of course, “serrated mountain” and its name seems apt enough.
There are also funiculars and a cog railway. Apparently, there is also a road. Whether that affords more or less of a sense of adventure we couldn’t say without checking it out. It does seem like cheating, though.
The Benedictine monastery was founded in the 10th century and still has over 150 monks in residence. We didn’t see any.
The Abbey has played an important role in the religious and political life of Catalonia. In more recent times, the monks were persecuted during the Civil War by Republican forces and then also persecuted by Franco given their ties to Catalan separatists and left wing politics and habit of providing sanctuary.
In a basilica partly built into the mountain, the Virgin of Montserrat is the principle attraction for both the curious and the faithful.
(Thank you to Wikipedia for the image.)
She is a likely-Romanesque statue of Mary holding an infant Jesus with blackened skin, known as the Black Madonna or La Moreneta. Various legends are attached to the statue, including that it was carved during the early days of the Church in Jerusalem and spirited away for safe keeping in the 8th century. Even in the middle of October there was a long line as people made their way along a passageway that led behind the altar to an elevated area overlooking the interior of the church. There the Madonna was behind glass, except for her hand which can be touched or kissed in veneration.
After mailing a postcard, it was down the mountain and back to Barcelona.
