Montserrat, symbol of Catalonia

Montserrat's story begins in the eleventh century when the Abbot Oliva commissioned to build a small monastery where today we find the Monastery of Montserrat. The years made and unmade this building many times but since 1844 have worked for the monastery that we have today.

Currently the community of monks is active with eighty young people plus choir members known for their quality and for being one of the oldest music schools in Europe. On April 26, the feast dedicated to the Mother of God of Montserrat, we will enjoy numerous events in the area of ??the monastery.

The ascent to Montserrat

The climb to Montserrat walk, has always been a very busy road for many Catalans, as once did the pilgrims devoted to the Mother of God of Montserrat, choose to enjoy the natural setting that offers the mountain in about two hours walk.

We can start the climb from Montserrat Monistrol following the Way of Canals and Water, find route marked with red and white lines of GR6 and corresponding to a stretch of road from Santiago to start from Barcelona . From the same population can choose the rise in the old Camino Ral, marked with yellow and white markings corresponding to PR-C19. If we start walking from Collbató we can take the path voltes them, the most frequented by hikers before construction of other transport, or the Way of Salnitre caves, way we will visit the cave and the Holy Salnitre Cave following the red and white of the GR5 and GR6.

These walks have no great difficulty and are clearly marked and equipped, but for more information we recommend visiting www.montserratvisita.com .

For those who prefer not to walk, you can also easily access the top of the zipper from taking Montserrat Montserrat Monistrol in just 15 minutes will bring us closer to the top, or taking the air also from Monistrol of Montserrat , the cable car from the 1930 brings us closer to the top in just 5 minutes. Finally there is an access road with a parking guarded that, out of respect to the environment, should be considered as a last option.

Once at the top ...

The best way to enjoy the stay in Montserrat is with the various outdoor routes that we can continue without loss requesting a book at the point of information. This proposal includes short walks, such as 15 minutes from the Pla de les Taràntules to the hermitage of Sant Joan, which allows easy access to a viewpoint or longer trips of up to three hours to reach the highest peak of the mountain, St. Jerome (1236m). In addition there is also the possibility to visit the open air museum, tour allows you to see archaeological remains of the monastery, the whole modernist sculptures in the country devoted to the mysteries of the Rosary, the Basilica Santa Cova or where we come to worship The Black Madonna.

As regards interior spaces begin with the visual space called "freight endins Montserrat" (Montserrat indoors) as we learn the daily life of the people who make the Benedictine community of Montserrat. Then we recommend a visit to the Library, a huge cultural and historical interest by the rich fund that protects with manuscripts dating from the eleventh century and remained until today. Noteworthy is the work of the Abbey of Montserrat in the production of books with publisher creating Publicacions l'Abadia de Montserrat productions supported with sciptorium the monastery itself while also creating a remarkable record to record Escolania and the Chapel of Music of Montserrat. All the publications you can purchase in the same monastery.

Finally I headed to the Museum of Montserrat interesting that receives room, designed in the '20s by the famous modernist architect Josep Puig and the collections we can see inside. The kind of exposure that we find in the museum is plural because it covers many specialties of different periods: archeology, iconography, painting, sculpture and metalwork. We want to highlight the collection of paintings from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, one of the best collections of paintings Catalan artists such as Rusinol, Houses, Picasso and Dali, among others.

The surroundings of Montserrat

Taking advantage of the stay in the area we recommend a visit to the nearest villages. First we head to El Bruc , village known for the legend of the Bruc Timbaler. The story has it that the inhabitants of El Bruc defeated Napoleon's army in the early nineteenth century through the echo that is produced in the Coll de Can Massana when the drummer rang his drum, and produced a noise that seemed from a huge military column, which made the French flee in fear. Each year in early June this feat is commemorated by a recreation of the battle.

Secondly we recommend a visit to Montserrat Monistrol , a lovely little village where we can visit the arcaded square of Bo-bo built in the seventeenth century and over the years has hosted notable buildings of the town, and the Gothic bridge over the river, dating from the fourteenth century.