Montserrat National Park

Montserrat National Park

The small wooden statue of The Black Virgin of Montserrat, revered locally as La Moreneta, is at the heart of Catalonia's most holy site, the basilica, monastery and hermitage of Montserrat. The complex is near the top of the spectacular saw-toothed mountain of the same name, which was designated as Spain's first national park, about a century ago.

Whichever way you approach the monastery, on foot, by car, rack railway or cable car, the mountain views are marvelous. Drivers approaching from the north get a particularly wonderful view of the sierra at Manresa. The monastery, which is surrounded by small chapels and hermit's caves, was founded in 880 and enlarged in the eleventh century.

In the fifteenth century it gained independence from Rome and its fame spread. In the early nineteenth century it was badly damaged when the French attacked Catalonia, but was rebuilt in 1844. Today it is a Benedictine monastery, which holds a marvelous collection of art in its museum. El Greco, Caravaggio and Zurbaran's religious paintings are featured, as well as modern works including some early Picassos, and some pieces from ancient Egyptian and the near east.

The combination of the Catalan cult of La Moreneta, combined with visitors who wish to visit the monastery and hermitage, means that this is a big tourist attraction, and unsurprisingly there is a large commercial element here. However the whole area is so beautiful that it is still worth visiting. You can reach the Montserrat National Park by rail from Barcelona, then up the mountain in the cable car or the Montserrat Rack Railway, or by car. Funiculars railways lead from the monastery almost to the mountain top. When you are there, listen to the boys' choir sing the Montserrat hymn daily except during July and at Christmas.