Today we took a day trip out of the city high up into the mountains of Catalonia to the monastery of Montserrat. Sharon had this trip high on her ‘must sees’ for this trip, but I really didn’t know much about it. It turns out that Montserrat means ‘serrated mountain’, and the complex of buildings literally hangs off of a mountain. It is the home of the Black Madonna.
Sharon didn’t want to go via a tour, as that does tend to cut the time that you are able to spend at the venue. The Barcelona Tourist Information stop in Catalunya Square was excellent. They sold us a ticket that covered the metro, the regional train, and the rack railway, and any funicular trains we wanted to get on (that were running – one was closed). We did have the choice of going up by the rack rail train, or by cable car. No argument needed, we chose the train! We were also given a sheet of paper with instructions, where the trains ran from, and a schedule. It was all very well laid out, and I was impressed. A nice change from Rome!
So this morning, we set an alarm, opened up the breakfast room at the hotel, and headed for the metro. We got on the right train (no help from me, I managed to make us miss one because I thought we were getting on the wrong one!), and a few stops later, we were looking for the R5 train. The schedule showed the first one leaving out of the Espanya Station at 8:36. We saw it sitting on track three and jumped on. Right after we pulled out, we realized we were half an hour early, and sure enough, after a 45 minute ride, we were once again the last ones on the train as it stopped at Martorell-Enllac, 20 minutes and 3 stops earlier than we wanted. So the train shut down, and we were stuck on it, and couldn’t get out. The engineer was switching ends, saw us, and let us out, then the train pulled out back towards Barcelona, leaving us stranded on the station once again. We do have a habit of doing this. So a word to the wise – don’t get on a train earlier than the one on the schedule – it may not be going where you had planned!
Anyway, a very nice woman (who didn’t speak much English) pointed towards her watch, and made sure that we knew that the 9am train would go on up to Monistrol, the starting point of the Rack Railway up to the monastery. The Rack Railway is basically a Cog Railway. There may be some difference in engineering, but I’m not sure of the specifics. The train ride was 15 minutes up the mountain, and we climbed 550 meters. It was steep, and the views were incredible. Originally, the way up was done on horseback, and later a stage service was added, cutting the time up the mountain to 3.5 hours. In 1892 a rack railway was implemented, cutting the time to 1 hour, 5 minutes. They have an original railcar and engine on display at the stop where the train switches from regular rail to the cog system. A steam engine pushed the cars up. It looks frightening to me!
Our final destination was at 1,200 meters, or about 3,900 feet. The temperature dropped significantly as well. We had brought our raincoats, and were glad we did. It was a beautiful day, but we needed the coats for a wind break!
We took the Saint Joan funicular up to the spine of the mountain. It was an elevation change of 248 meters or 814 feet, with a 65% grade. I was right at the back of the car and had an unobstructed view. The funicular was built in 1918, and modernized in 1997. From the top, we had a view of both sides of the mountain. This seems to be the trip for being on the very spine of mountains. First Castle Gandolfo in Italy, and now here. The views were spectacular.
What I had not realized is that the whole area of the mountain is important in Spanish religious life, and there are shrines and chapels all over the hills. The monastery had been in place in one form or another since 880 AD, and the monks were hermits. Many had caves up past the monastery. The paths that lead off from the top of the funicular lead to some of these and the various chapels. (The pictures below show one of the paths, and the view from the back side of the mountain on the top of the spine.)
After our visit to the top of the mountain, we went to the church to see the Black Madonna. There are lots of stories about the Madonna. Some say the statue came from Jerusalem in the early days of Christianity, but nobody is really quite sure. One story is that she was carved by St Luke and brought to Spain in 50 AD. At some point, she was hidden in a cave in the mountains from the invading Moors in the 700s, and the memory of the exact hiding place was lost. In 880 AD she was found again by shepherd boys. The Bishop of Manresa wanted to move the statue to the town of Manresa, but the small statue proved to be so heavy that they took it as her desire to stay on the mountain and build the shrine around her. She is black due to the amount of smoke from candles and insense that have been around her for years.
The statue is at the very front of the church, quite a ways up. There is a path laid out so that each person can go alongside the far inside wall of the church, up some stairs, and be funneled, one at a time, in front of the statue. While we were going through, a boys choir was singing in the church, and the place was packed. I was able to get a picture.
The church and the chapels are magnificent. They is a lot of moorish influence present. Unfortunately, my pictures of the place really didn’t come out well although I’ve included one below, but I would suggest that you google it. It’s really magnificent.
The mountains themselves are fascinating, as they are not volcanically formed. The rock seems porous and crumbly. There was a feature on the mountains at the top of Saint Joan that talked a little about this. Another thing I’d like to research at another time!
The whole area is now far more than just a monastery. There are a couple of hotels, and restaurants, an art museum, and other points of interest. We saw one couple, obviously ready for a serious hike, with coils of rope and all. There were also school groups up there today. At one point, about 4 3rd graders came up to us and asked if we spoke English. They had an assignment, and had to come up with the meaning of some English words. They showed us the paper, and we tried to explain what a ‘wild boar’ was. We came up with ‘mean pig with horns (tusks)’. They communicated well with us, and seemed pleased with the answer. From what we could see, it looked like they were on some kind of scavenger hunt, with words in French and Italian as well. What a wonderful field trip!
One last comment about the countryside. Coming from the Pacific NW of the US, Mountains to me are big, tall, and covered with snow. The land around here is different. The mountains are softer, and more undulating, with some fascinating formations. Coming up from the coast, we could see the top of one, and bridges literally silhouetted on the spine. I wish I’d gotten a picture of it, but I wasn’t quick enough. The land is full of greenery, but seems somewhat arid at the same time. It’s a fascinating landscape.
Monserrat was a wonderful day trip. We had a excellent lunch, and met some nice people as well. All in all, a great day.
More pictures of Montserrat and it’s surroundings below.
And for my friends who will geek out over this (you know who you are), the workings of the Saint Joan Funicular train. They had this behind glass, and I just had to take a picture.
Suzanne’s Travels 