Pilgrims in front of the Madonna.

This is the mountain in Catalonia. For other uses, see Montserrat (disambiguation).

Montserrat is a mountain near Barcelona, in Catalonia, in Spain. It is the site of a Benedictine abbey, Santa Maria de Montserrat, which hosts the Virgin of Montserrat sanctuary and which is identified by some ^[1] with the location of the Holy Grail in Arthurian myth.

"Montserrat" literally means "jagged (serrated) mountain" in Catalan. It describes the peculiar aspect of the rock formation, which is visible from a great distance. The mountain is composed of strikingly pink conglomerate, a form of sedimentary rock, popular with climbers.

The Caribbean island of Montserrat is named after the mountain.

Transportation

The abbey can be reached by road, or by the Aeri de Montserrat cable car, or by the Montserrat Rack Railway. The lower stations of both the rack railway and the cable car can be reached by Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya train from Barcelona's Plaça d'Espanya station. From the abbey, the Funicular de Sant Joan funicular railway goes up to the top of the mountain, where there are various abandoned hovels in the cliff faces that were previously the abodes of reclusive monks, whilst the Funicular de Santa Cova descends to a shrine.

Summit

The summit of Montserrat is called Sant Jeroni (Saint Jerome) and stands at 1,236 meters (4,055 feet) above sea-level. It is accessible by hiking trails which connect from the top entrance to the Sant Joan funicular, the monastery, or the base of the mountain.

Images

Footnotes

External links

• LARSA Montserrat How to arrive, where to eat, general services
• Shrine of Our Lady of Montserrat History, description and photos
• "Patronage and Piety: Montserrat and the Royal House of Medieval Catalonia-Aragon" Detailed history of the abbey (PDF)
• Official website of the Escolania

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