10/24: Black Virgin & Hiking at Montserrat Near Barcelona

When the airline changed our flight from Astana, Kazakhstan, to Barcelona to the day ahead of our scheduled departure, it meant we had an unexpected ‘free day’ in Barcelona. We decided to spend it in Montserrat, a place we’d wanted to visit but didn’t think we’d have the time. It was located an hour northwest of the capital of the Catalunya or Catalan region of Spain. Montserrat, known as the serrated mountain, has an impressive mountain-top monastery of the same name and a spiritual connection with the Catalan people and their struggles. It has been Catalunya's most important pilgrimage site for a thousand years. I will write about the Catalans' struggle for independence in another post.

We took the train to Montserrat and almost immediately a cable car up the mountain to the monastery which was nestled in the jagged peaks at 2,400 feet.  

First, though, we looked up at the rock face and the monastery near the top.

Another for my ever expanding collection of bathroom signs!

In just a few minutes, we'd reach the monastery visible in the middle through the cable car's lines.

People could either drive up to the monastery through a series of switchbacks but the cable car seemed more interesting and less hazardous as there'd be no worries about making sure the driver's eyes were on the road and not taking in the views!

We were so thankful with the day's great weather as we'd had nothing but rain and cold weather the last couple of weeks of traveling. We'd almost forgotten what the sun and blue skies looked like!

In the canyon far below, we could just spot the Llobregat River.

The series of peaks above the monastery reach upward to 4,000 feet.

Credit goes to travel writer Rick Steves for the following background on Montserrat: The first hermit monks built huts at Montserrat around 900 AD and a monastery by 1025. The Montserrat Escolonia or Choir School, considered to be the oldest music school in Europe, soon followed. Legend has it that some shepherd children saw lights and heard songs coming from the mountain in medieval times. They traced the sounds to what is now called Sacred Cave where they found the Black Virgin statue, La Morenata, which made the monastery a magnet for pilgrims.

In 1811, Napoleon's invading French troops destroyed Montserrat's buildings but luckily the Black Virgin survived as it had been hidden away by monks. In the 1830s, the Spanish royalty dissolved monasteries and convents, but the monks returned in the 1850s as part of Catalunya's and Europe's renewed Romantic appreciation for all things medieval and nationalistic. Montserrat's basilica and monastery were reconstructed. They faced another roadblock when the dictatorial leader, Francisco Franco, came to power in the 1930s as he wanted a monolithic Spain and Montserrat represented to him Catalan rebelliousness. During his long rule from 1939-75, 300 intellectuals, demonstrating for more respect for human rights, were locked up in the monastery by Franco's police. 

Montserrat's monastery is Benedictine and its 30 monks have had as their slogan 'ora et labora' or prayer and work since 1025. I read they welcomed visitors - both pilgrims and tourists - but that the most important part of our visit was not to simply enjoy the architecture but rather "to discover the religious, cultural, historical, social and environmental values that symbolically express the life of the Catalan people." That seemed like an admirable but also very tall order for a couple of day trippers who were tired when we began from a very long day of traveling the day before and also dealing with a five hour time change.

Below the monastery was the entrance to Sacred Heart Cave.

The winding road up the mountain: 

It felt like we were at the top of the world!

I knew the current Basilica was built in the 1850s but was surprised to discover  the Neo-Romanesque facade dated only from 1968. 

After taking about two hours to reach the monastery via metro, train and cable car, we then had to stand in an hour long line of pilgrims waiting to see La Morenata, Montserrat's top attraction.

Steven and I took turns standing in line so we could each wander around the outside of the monastery and admire it with no need of feeling rushed.

We were lucky being at the end of the line of visitors when only about forty people were let in at a time along a long, narrow corridor with paintings and sculptures on both sides. It meant I could easily pause and take photos without holding up the line behind us.

Our first view of the basilica was through the grille. Luckily, we'd see more later!

The collection of art on display was breathtaking and I knew we were in the presence of masterpieces by Dali, Caravaggio, Monet, Picasso, El Greco any many others. It was impossible not to feel elevated, not just by the altitude but especially spiritually.

Oops, I'd better catch up to the people in front!

An oil painting of a young St. Benedict:

Another peak of the basilica:

The long wait along the corridor and then on and up the stairs helped prepare us both for a sight of the Black Virgin although the Spaniards call her 'tanned' and not black. The statue was originally lighter, but it darkened over the centuries from candle smoke, humidity, and the natural aging of its original varnish.

Since the line was still so long before we'd have a chance to see La Morenata, I quickly took the opportunity to walk down into the crypt. It was unusually light and airy, so unlike the normal dark and gloomy crypts we’ve seen in the past.

Once back upstairs again, I took advantage of the opportunity being at the back of the line to gaze at the wonderful paintings that adorned both sides of the stairway just before we would catch a glimpse of the Black Virgin.

A view looking back downstairs where we'd just seen the golden, mosaic paintings:

The display case had both Montserrat's and the Catalan flags.

Note the carved details under the display case.

After waiting so long, it was very, very special to finally be right there and see Mary even though she was behind a protective glass. 

I had read that most pilgrims touch Mary's exposed royal orb that  she cradles in her hands with one hand and hold the other hand up to show they accept Jesus. I was so glad I had the opportunity to do both after waiting so long in line before the doors opened and also on the half hour or so walk along the corridor and stairs. I can't emphasize enough what a difference it made that we were at the end of a line as we each had our moment or two of peace one on one with Mary with no one on our tail wanting to rush us along.

I understand that newlyweds in particular seek Mary's blessing.

The way out was by walking along the Ave Maria Path along the outside of the church which beautifully integrated nature and the basilica.

Votive candles in different colors and sizes could be purchased to help the devout with their prayers.

While waiting in line earlier, we'd seen signs advertising a concert at 1 for the famous boys' choir so we entered the church directly and were lucky to snag seats in the third row from the front where we had yet another wait before the concert began! It gave us time to see the entire church instead of just the snippets we'd seen before!

It was then we saw the chapel with the Black Virgin in the dead center of the basilica above the altar and realize where we'd just been. We hadn't realized when we were there that the Virgin Mary was open and could be seen by everyone sitting in the basilica.

Both of us were so in the moment then looking at the Black Virgin, we never thought to turn around and look out into the church as others did. 

The entire church was packed with SRO and even schoolchildren sat patiently in the aisles for the choir performance to begin. I've never seen a church so full as it was for the free choir performance. 

In just ten minutes, though, the angels’ voices came to an end and the performance was over! I know some people were upset the choir only sang three songs as they'd come from far and wide to listen to them but Steven and I were simply delighted we'd heard them at all as we hadn't known there would be a performance before we arrived. 

After being inside for so long, it was glorious to see the bright blue sky!

One of the bonuses about going to Montserrat after viewing the Black Virgin and attending the daily concert is the opportunity to hike in the hills surrounding the monastery. We took the St. Joan funicular to the upper station located 820 feet above the monastery in just five minutes.

Lil Red: I bet you or Pat know what these flowers are that were at the top of the mountain. I've seen them before but can't remember their name!

I liked seeing the priests also taking an opportunity to commune with nature above the monastery!

The mountain top Chapel of St. Onofrio had to be one of the most spectacular spots for a chapel anywhere!

The small caves were interesting reminders how people used to strive for religious enlightenment through deprivation. 

See the people way down on the bottom right - that was where we'd just hiked from!

It'd been a long time since we'd been hiking as we'd spent so much time in cities the last several weeks. That may have been why we enjoyed the entire experience even more than we might have otherwise. 

We thought, or should I say, I thought, it'd be great to hike all the way to the cross at the edge of the mountain, but Steven thought that would be nuts, would take too long, we didn't have enough water, etc, etc. He, of course, was right but, boy, did that look enticing if it were several hours earlier in the day.

We had to content ourselves instead making for the San Miguel Hermitage that was built in the 19th century.

The Cross of San Miguel:

While hiking, we met Don and Donna from Sacramento who’d been traveling through Spain for the last three weeks. How nice it was to be listening to English again after so long! I remember so vividly Don saying how he'd loved touring all the fantastic cathedrals and churches all over Spain but how they all sort of ran into each other after a while. I think Steven and I are at that point now after spending almost four weeks traveling around a good chunk of Spain, and hey, we have still another couple of weeks left, too!

We reached the monastery about 4 and took the funicular down to the base of the mountain and, after waiting a while, took the train back to Barcelona. What a wonderful way to spend our first day in Spain as we didn't think we'd have the time to visit Montserrat with so much else to see in the city itself.

Next post: Discovering Barcelona's markets and Gothic Quarter.

Posted on November 23rd, 2018, from Granada, Spain.