The Mountain, the Monastery, and the Moreneta

This post is the first in a three-part series about my recent travels through Spain.

View of the Santa Maria de Montserrat
Abbey from the Santa Cova Trail.

One day, while planning my trip to the Barcelona area, I was flipping through an English Baedeker guidebook on Spain. I just happened to thumb by a page with a picture of a very odd looking mountain. There was something about it that drew my attention, almost as if I were being pulled toward it. When I read the details and discovered that it was called Montserrat, and that it was in the Barcelona area, I immediately decided I needed to visit there. Fortunately, I was staying with some good (Spanish) friends of mine in the Barcelona area who lived not too far off and on a breezy yet sunny Sunday, we drove to Montserrat.

Montserrat as viewed from the nearby city of
Manressa (Wikimedia).

The name "Montserrat" literally means "serrated mountain" in the Catalan language. Seeing the jagged shapes jutting out from the already hilly Catalonian landscape, it wasn't hard to see how appropriate this name was. Montserrat's significance goes far beyond just being an unusually shaped mountain, however. The mountain is also home to a very famous Benedictine Abbey, Santa Maria de Montserrat, the rich history of which I'll describe a bit later.

My friends and I arrived at the base of the mountain, where we boarded the rack railway (Catalan: cremallera) that leads up the mountain to the monastery. Despite being near the top of large mountain literally in the middle of Catalonian countryside, the monastery is surprisingly well connected. It can be reached by not only by the rack railway but also by cable car, funicular, various roads, and by foot; extensive hiking trails cover the area. 

Rack railway/funicular station near the monastery.

 

For many reasons, Montserrat is one of the most popular tourist sites in Catalonia. This point, combined with clear, lovely weather meant many visitors were also around. The crowds, however, were still quite tolerable and nothing close to the ridiculous and rowdy tourist throngs that one finds in certain areas of Barcelona. As I had discovered days earlier, the stories about that city overflowing with tourists are quite true. Walk around the Barri Gòtic, Cuitat Vella, or especially the Ramblas, and you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who isn't a tourist.

A closer view of the Santa Maria monastery.

After enjoying some of the great views, my friends and I decided to head into the abbey itself and specifically to view the Virgin of Montserrat aka la Moreneta ("little dark-skinned one"), an extremely famous icon of a dark-skinned Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus in her lap and a golden orb in her right hand. There are many legends associated with this lovely little statue. One states that the figure was carved by St. Luke and eventually brought from Jerusalem to Barcelona. It was then hidden away on Montserrat to protect it from Muslim invaders during the 8th century CE. Forgotten for centuries, it was rediscovered during the Reconquista and a monastery built on the mountain.

Drawing of the Moreneta
at the Santa Cova
chapel.

Another, perhaps more popular legend about the Moreneta, goes back to the year 888 CE. Some shepherds in the countryside had seen a very bright light coming from the mountain. They informed the local bishop, who lead an expedition up to the mountain. Following the light, the party entered a cave where they discovered the Moreneta. They decided to bring the icon down from the mountain into the local city for people to worship it but as they carried the statue, it gradually became heavier and heavier until it could no longer be carried. The bishop interpreted this as a sign that the Moreneta would be worshpped where it was found: on the mountain itself. Not long after, the monastery was built to house it.

What does modern science say about the statue? Tests have shown the statue was made in the 1100s, which is consistent with its Romanesque style. Further studies have shown that the "little dark-skinned one" was originally white, but started to darken in the 1500s due to the lead-based paint that was originally used. In the 1700s, it was painted entirely black. While we have an understanding of the physical composition of the statue, its actual origin is still unclear. Where exactly did it come from and who actually carved it? Who put it all the way up in the mountain? The answers to these questions seem to have flowed away in the river of time. What we can say is that the Moreneta quickly became a symbol of the region and has long been the patron saint of Catalonia, making Montserrat itself the spiritual center of the Catalan people. Veneration of the Moreneta was then literally spread around the world during the  Spanish colonization of the Americas. On the day of my visit, I did indeed see a fair number of pilgrims from Latin America.

The line to visit the Moreneta was quite long but did move at a fair pace despite Sunday Mass being held. Inside the main courtyard, messages of welcome and blessing were posted in pretty much every major world language.

Welcome to Montserrat.

Just about to enter the basilica.

The line of visitors slowly ambled its way through the side of the basilica and up through a set of beautifully decorated stairs. The path eventually led to a small shrine room that was right above the main altar of basilica and in this room was the legendary Moreneta, peacefully sitting behind a glass case with the orb exposed. As one of my friends joked beforehand, "You know how it is with Catholics, you always have to touch or kiss something". Indeed, many (but certainly not all) visitors did touch or kiss the orb. All the people I saw who kissed the orb did wipe it down with a tissue before and after, which made the whole thing much more hygienic than it might seem. I too decided to pay my respects and I gently touched the orb.

Literally touching history made me think about how many other people through the ages have been through to see the Moreneta. Perhaps one the most famous was a Basque soldier who made a pilgrimage to Montserrat in the early 1500s. After recovering from war wounds, he stood before the Moreneta, threw down his weapons, and swore to serve God and the Church. This man's name was the Ignatius of Loyola and he would later go on to establish the Society of Jesus, better known as the order of the Jesuits.
  

A view of the altar in the Santa Maria basilica. The stream of visitors to see the Moreneta can be seen on the lower right-hand side while the Moreneta shrine can be see in the upper-left. The boys choir of Montserrat is quite well known and was practicing when I took this photo.

 

Behold the Moreneta!

Offerings from devotees.

The path from the Moreneta shrine leads to a narrow passage filled with candles and shrines. The many pilgrims who visit here leave not only candles but also messages of faith and devotion, which were posted on a very large board. From what I briefly saw, the stories often involved people praying to the Virgin of Montserrat and, having received divine assistance, making a pilgrimage to the mountain as a way of showing their gratitude. 

Having seen the Moreneta, my friends and I decided to check out the place where the legend of Montserrat really began, the Santa Cova ("Holy Grotto" in Catalan). We took a funicular down the side of the mountain and walked along a path called the Santa Cova Trail. Along it, one finds various sculptures and shrines that depict various episodes from the life of Jesus. Aside from the lovely art, there are also absolutely stunning views of the surrounding area.

Sculpture along the
Santa Cova trail.

At this particular time, we could see all the way to the Pyrenees (not shown here).

At the end of the Santa Cova trail lies the small Santa Cova chapel. This humble structure was built around a small grotto where, according to legend, the Moreneta was first discovered. A replica of the Moreneta remains in the grotto. Only a handful of visitors were around and the place was very calm and quiet, which was very different from the buzzing activity in and around the basilica.

 

The actual Santa Cova with a
replica of the Moreneta.

The Santa Cova chapel.

View of the monastery
from the Saint Jeroni
funicular station.

Various hiking trails near the
Montserrat's summit.

After strolling back from the Santa Cova and popping into the basilica (Mass was over by now), we took the funicular to the top of Montserrat, an area called Saint Jeroni. In theory, vistas even more amazing than those from the Santa Cova trail were up there but some clouds and a rather chilly breeze had started to roll through, obscuring the views somewhat. Apparently, from the very summit from Montserrat on a clear day, one can see all the way to Mallorca. We didn't hike up that far but we did have some more lovely views. We saw many hikers and climbers in addition to the casual visitors like my friends and I. Along some of the trails were very old hermitages and chapels that had been built and maintained by, well, hermits. Following one of the many winding paths, we went stopped off at the hermitage of Saint Onefre. The image of this place on the top of the mountain and amongst the clouds is one of my favorite pictures of my entire Spanish trip. Looking down at the world below while breathing the pure mountain air and listening to the cool breeze blow was quite an experience. I might be a city boy, but I can definitely appreciate getting back to nature every now and then.
 

The hermitage of Saint Onofre.

How to saw a mountain over millions of years. 

Having satisfied ourselves with a mountain-top paseo (the Spanish term for "leisurely stroll"), we waited around for the funicular to take us back down to the monastery. While waiting, we had a look at the exhibition at the Saint Jeroni station. Aside from recounting the history and many legends surrounding Montserrat, there was also a very interesting science exhibition. For the science nerds reading this, there was also lots of geological information about the area, including how the mountain got its famous serrated shape.

Back down at the monastery, we checked out the museum as well as the gift shop. I was impressed by the very fascinating and well-done exhibition on the history of Montserrat and its place in Catalan culture. I was even more impressed by the gift shop. Aside from the usual souvenirs (magnets, post cards, etc.) there was also a rather impressive collection of books in Catalan. And it wasn't just a selection of books about Catholicism or Montserrat. The shop had books on a large variety of topics ranging from Catalan cuisine to Zen meditation! On a related note, the monastery itself has a long and distinguished publishing history and houses one of the oldest continuously operating publishing houses in Europe (est. 1499).

At the end, we took the funicular back down and as we drove home and the landscape started to glow with the golden rays of the setting sun, I thought about just how special Montserrat is. It's so many things, all at once: a holy pilgrimage site, a paradise for hikers, and a fascinating object of study for scientists. Back when I was planning this visit, I was expecting just an old monastery on top of a weird-looking mountain. While I did find an old monastery on top of a weird-looking mountain, I was surprised at what else this place has to offer. But then again, being pleasantly surprised is one the things I enjoy most about traveling. Perhaps I'll return to Montserrat and again be pleasantly surprised at what else I can find on this holy mountain.