A Must See if You're In Barcelona

1.5 hours by train from Barcelona, Montserrat stands about 4,000 feet above the Catalonian landscape. It is an amazing site from the base, but can be seen rising up above the valley floor from a far distance. However, from the top of the summit the view is difficult to put into words. "Breathtaking", "Inspiring", and "Unbelievable" seem to fall short.

If you're planning a trip to Barcelona or Spain in general, a day long visit to Montserrat and the Monastery is a day well spent. You certainly will not regret it. If you arrive by car, bus, or motorcycle, you can take a winding road leading to the monastery itself. However, if you take the train like we did, you can take either a cable car or vernicular (rack railway) from the base to the monastery.

From there you many options of sites and activities. The monastery has a museum, restaurants, gifts shops with handmade goods, a beautiful church, and a daily performance by a boys choir. We chose to take a hike up the mountain to the summit along winding and steep hiking trails. I highly recommend comfortable, sturdy shoes, water and a camera. It is quite a tough hike, but well worth the effort as you will pass a series of points with views that will take your breath away including looking back down upon the monastery itself, which appears to be carved right out of the rock in the side of the mountain.

We took a detour on our ascent to a cross that sits on the promontory on the mountain and offers a great view back from where we came.

A Brief History

The monastery was built in the 11th century, but the reclusive monks had been creating hermitages in Montserrat (Catalonian for "saw mountain") since at least the 9th century AD. Several miracles have been said to have taken place at the site and it is also one of the rumored resting places of the Holy Grail of Arthurian legend. Many Christians make a pilgrimage to the site every year. The monastery was destroyed during Napoleonic times, but was later rebuilt. The cable car was designed and built by German engineers in the 1930's and has been in operation ever since.

A Symbol of Catalonia Resistance

Many Catalonians that were persecuted during the Franco regime used Montserrat as a way to hide from the authorities. Even then, Catalonians continued to resist and speak their native language and hold events in opposition to Franco. As a result, some 20 monks were executed for harboring anti-Franco dissidents. Given the current Catalonian independence movement, Montserrat continues to be a symbol for Catalonia.

There are a number of ways to visit and several packages can be bought that incorporate tours, transport, etc. I strongly suggest making the trip. We definitely will be back again this Autumn.

Learn more about Montserrat and the Monastery:
https://www.montserrat-tourist-guide.com/en/general/official-websites-montserrat-catalonia.html
https://www.barcelona.de/en/barcelona-excursions-monastery-montserrat.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montserrat_(mountain)

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