Montserrat

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La Moreneta - The Black Madonna
The Black Madonna of Montserrat.
"The small wooden statue of La Moreneta (the Dark Maiden) is the soul of Montserrat. It is said to have been made by St. Luke and brought to Montserrat  by St. Peter in AD 50. Centuries later, the statue is believed to have been hidden from the Moors in the nearby Santa Cova (Holy Grotto).
Carbon Dating suggests, however, that the current statue was carved around the 12th C.
In 1881, Montserrat's Black Madonna was crowned in accordance with Canon Law and proclaimed Patron Saint of the dioceses in Catalonia, by Pope Leo XIII."

 
 
Montserrat (The Serrated Mountain) from the Railway Station
Montserrat (The Serrated Mountain) from the local railway station - 1 hour's jourey from Barcelona. (in the enlarged view, you can spot the cable car making its way up to the Monastery which is at the top, just to the right of the V-shape in the mountain's profile).

The geological origins of the Mountain are sedimentary. At the end of the Mesozoic era, what today is the base of the mountain was the delta of a river that came from the Balearic continent and flowed into a large lake in the centre of what today is Catalonia. At the bottom were the sediments. The movement of the Balearic contenent left the lake dry and the delta was left uncovered and formed a large, pasty mass of conglomerates. Movements of the Earth's crust, changes in climate and erosion worked this exposed mass some 10 million years ago, and for thousands of years, to form the abrupt cliffs and rounded blocks, separated by vertical and narrow, oddly shaped channels that inspire people today. The agents also created caves and crevaces in the middle of the Mountain.

 
 
Cable Car arriving at Montserrat and View of Valley The Montserrat Monestary Complex - from the Cable Car
The Cable Car arriving at the Monastery, with a view of the Lobregat River valley, 725m below, from which it started its climb. The view of the Benedictine Monastery which greets the visitor arriving from the Cable Car (as opposed to those who take the Coach Tour from Barcelona, and who arrive more leisurely - and less spectacularly - from the other side of the Mountain!)

 
 
The Chapel of the Holy Grotto - the place the orginal 'La Moreneta' was found (the building is mid-way down the slope of the profile of the Mountain - better seen in the full-sized version of the Photo).
The Chapel dates from the end of the 17th C and the begining of the 18th C. 
The area was greatly damaged during the Napoleonic wars (1811-1812), just like the Monastery and Shrine.
Two major Restoration Projects have been undertaken, the first in the 1850s and the second, in the mid 1990s as a result of the ravages of a Forest Fire coupled with heavy rainfall,  resulted in a completely restored Holy Grotto being opened again to pilgrims on March 19, 1997.		 The Path to the Holy Grotto ('St. Michael's Path') and the Monumental Rosary.
"This route, with its surprising views has been made even more beautiful by the 15 groups of sculptures corresponding to the mysteries of the Rosary. They are to be found all alongthe path to the Holy Grotto.
This Monumental Rosary was begun in 1896 and was completed in 1910. Many architects, sculptors, and artisans took part: that is why each part has its own style. The decisive role of architects like Josep Puig i Cadafalch or Antoni Gaudi and of sculptors like Josep Llimona or the Vallmitjana brothers has unified it. It is rightly known as the most important architectural monument in the outdoors of the Catalan Modernest Movement."

 
 
Sculpture of Abbot Oliba in Abbot Oliba Square .
"A majestic bronze sculpture (1992) dedicated to Abbot Oliba who founded the Monastery in the year of 1025. The sculpture is by Manuel Cusachs. The Abbot, who was the Bishop of Vic (county of Osona), sits on a chair on the back of which the bell towers of the monasteries of Ripoli (in Osona) and Saint Miguel de Cuixa (the Conflent area in France) of which he was also Abbot, are represented. His left hand holds the plas for the first church at Montserrat, and his right hand welcomes everybody who comes to the Monastery and Shrine at Montserrat, following the Benedictine tradition.		 The Gothic Entrance Gate to St Mary's Square, featuring the Coat-of-Arms of Montserrat, dating from 1565. The entrance to St Mary's Square (via Our Lady's Hill)

 
 
Our Lady's Hill ('Pujada de Nostra Senyora') leading from Abbot Oliba Square to St Mary's Square and the Basilica. Sculpture of St.George,
by Josep M Subirachs, towards the top of Our Lady's Hill. It may seem reminiscent of some of the sculptures on the facade of the Pasion of the Temple of the Holy Family (Sagrada Familia) in Barcelona, which is the work of the same sculptor.

 
 
The Facade of the Monastery, which leads into the Atrium of the Basilica. At the top of the facade there is the phrase, in Latin, 'Urbs Jerusalem Beata Dicta Pacis Visio' which means 'HappyCity of Jerusalem, called the Vision of Peace'.
The three upper Balconies are decorated with works of the sculptor Joan Rebull (1899-1981). The one on the left evokes the figure of St. Benedictine, father of monks and patron saint of Europe. The one in the middle represents the proclamation of the Assumption of Mary as dogma by Pope Pius XII. The one on the right portrays St. George, with a representation of the monks who tragically died  during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39)		 "At the upper end of St Mary's Square the most notable feature is the robust shape of the west end of the Monastery with its Tower which was constructed after the 1936-39 Spanish Civil War."

 
 
The Wrought-Iron Statue of St. Benedict
The Arches of the Facade to the Monastery (looking out from the Atrium onto St. Mary's Square), which house two 16th C. tombs, the porch of the old Romanesque Church (12th C.), and a statue of St. Benedict. The Statue of St. Benedict in wrought iron by Domenec Fita  "The series of sculpted figures that encloses St Mary's Square to the right is devoted to the founding saints of the various religious institutions that have been related to Montserrat over the centuries.
This group of Arches is an excellent balcony from which on clear days, one can see the Llobregat river basin, which flows into the Mediterranean after having passed through many industrial towns near Barcelona."

 
 
 
The Atrium of the Basilica, known as the Atrium of Abbot Argerich (18th C) was decorated in 1952-56 with designs by Josep Obiols and Father Bebet Martinez.
The black and white marble floor (1952) gets its imspiration from the floor of the Capitolium in Rome designed by Michelangelo. In the centre there are allegories and a Latin inscription that refer to Baptism.
The Facade of the Basilica.
It was Abbot Bartomeu Garriga who in 1560 placed the first stone, but it was not consecrated until 1592, and there were still parts unfinished. On the occasion of the 400th Anniversary of the Consecration (1992), restoration of both the outside and inside was begun (1991-1995) under the direction of the architect Arcadi Pla i Masmiguel. There had been three previous restorations, for example between 1900-1901 the old Baroque Facade was replaced by the one we see today - the work of Francesc de Paula del Villar i Carmona and carved by the brothers Venanci and Agapit Vallmitjana.
The Apse of the Basilica.

 
 
La Moreneta 'La Moreneta' from inside the Basilica (atmospheric picture!)
The Chapel of the Image of the Mother of God, built around a glass window showing the rear view of La Moreneta.

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