5/5 RGSOUNDF 2 years ago on Google
About
one
hour
drive
from
Barcelona
(also
accessed
by
train
and
a
cable
car,
a
funicular),
high
up
in
the
mountains
(1,236
metres
or
4,055 ft),
there
is
Santa
Maria
de
Montserrat
Abbey,
colloquially
known
as
Montserrat
Monastery,
established
in
the
XIth
century,
about
1,100
years
ago.
We
have
visited
the
location
in
the
late
November,
the
weather
was
dreary,
non-stop
pouring
rain,
lots
of
fog,
almost
zero
visibility
of
the
beautiful
mountainous
landscape
(they
say
that
on
a
good
day
you
can
the
Pyrenees),
so
we
couldn't
fully
explore
the
Montserrat
Abbey,
but
even
our
short
visit
was
fully
worth
time
and
effort.
The
monastery
is
mostly
famous
for
its
Virgin
of
Montserrat
(Mare
de
Déu
de
Montserrat
in
Catalan).
It
is
widely
known
as
a
Black
Madonna,
hence
its
familiar
Catalan
name,
La
Moreneta
("the
little
dark-skinned
one"
or
"the
little
dark
one").
As
the
legend
has
it,
it
was
carved
in
the
early
days
of
Christian
church
in
Jerusalem.
Other
sources
state
it
dates
back
to
the
XIIth
century
Romanesque
period.
There
is
a
very
convenient
underground
parking
at
the
location
in
case
you
arrive
by
car.
Many
vendors
offer
local
products
from
the
surrounding
farms,
such
as
honey
and
cheeses.
We
highly
recommend
visiting
the
very
old
Romanesque
church
Santa
Cecília
de
Montserrat,
just
a
few
minutes'
drive
from
the
Santa
Maria
de
Montserrat
Abbey.
Its
recently-restored
church
dates
from
the
XIth
century,
and
is
one
of
the
finest
examples
of
Romanesque
architecture
in
the
region.
It
is
currently
hosting
the
work
of
one
of
the
most
internationally-celebrated
contemporary
artists,
the
Irish-born
American-based
British
painter
and
sculptor
Sean
Scully. However,
you
absolutely
got
to
contact
them
first
regarding
the
opening
hours.
According
to
their
website,
the
Basilica
is
open
daily
from
7.00
am
to
8.00
pm,
but,
probably
due
to
the
pandemics,
on
Wednesday,
November
24th,
around
11
am,
the
place
was
closed.