From Barcelona to Montserrat

The Montserrat is a mountain in Catalonia. The Montserrat mountain is being considered the most mysterious mountain of Catalonia. It is situated about 20km northwest of Barcelona. On the mountain you can find a monastery and a church. There is also a hotel where you can spend the night. On a yearly basis Montserrat attracts many different tourists, like catholic pelgrims and climbers.

The mountain

The mountain peeks out of the Catalonian countryside, with Sant Jeroni as the highest spot (1236m). Other high spots are Cavall Bernat, Les Agulles, Serrat del Moro, Montgrós, Sant Joan and Palomera. Since 1987 Montserrat is being considered as a national park, to guarantee the preservation of the mountain. The mountain contains a lot of different kind of animals like bats, wild hogs and wild goats.

Spirituality

Since the Catalans saw the holy virgin of Mary in the holy cave Santa Cova, the mountain is surrounded by spirituality. Next to the grand monastery of Montserrat are a few little churches and chapels. Some of the are abandoned.



The Virgin, who is called la Moreneta ("the brown") because of her dark color, is a wooden statue in Roman style from the 17th century. The holiday of the Virgin of Montserrat is being celebrated on the 27th of April.

The Montserrat legend

According to the legend a few priests saw a bright light coming from the sky in 880 on a saturday afternoon, accompanied with a beautiful song. The four saturdays after the major of Olesa joined the priests to take a look and saw the same.

The monastery of Montserrat

The monastery of Montserrat is situated on a height of 720 meters on the east side of the mountain. It is well known as a pilgrimage- and tourist place. There is also a hotel situated there.

The culture

The monastery has a library with almost 300.000 works, a collection of children choir songs (the oldest of Europe) and a museum that contains work of El Greco, Picasso and Salvador Dalí. There are also some Egyptian treasures there from the old Egypt.

How to go from Barcelona to Montserrat

A daytrip to Montserrat is really worth it, and is a beautiful experience. Besides taking a look at the church, the museam and the monastery of Montserrat, you can walk for hours in the mountains and enjoy the beautiful views.

Car: Take the N-11 until the km 59 exit or the A-2 until the Martorell exit. Continue through Albrera and Monistrol (60km) and follow the signs to Montserrat. The road leading up to the monastery is steep, windy and often plagued by traffic jams. Therefore, a better option is to park your car at the Cremallera station and take the zipper train to the top. Visit www.cremallerademontserrat.com for fares and timetables or call 902 31 2020 for more information.

Train: The FGC trains S4 or R5 leave from Plaça Espanya. Take the train direction Manresa until Montserrat Aeri (for the cable car) or Monistrol de Montserrat (for the zipper train). The trip takes approx. 1 hour and trains depart every hour. You can choose to buy a combined, round-trip ticket at the Plaça Espanya FGC station that includes the train and cable car or zipper train ride (approx. 20€). For more information, fares and timetables, consult ww.fgc.es, www.cremallerademontserrat.com or www.aeridemontserrat.com or call 93 205 1515 (FGC), 902 31 2020 (Cremallera/zipper train) or 93 237 7156 (Aeri/cable car).

Bus: Juliá Tours drives to Montserrat and organises guided tours of the monastery of Montserrat. You can take the bus from Sants or Estació de Nord. Buses depart Sants at 9am and leave Monserrat at 5pm. For more information and fares visit www.juliatours.es.