I wasn't actually planning to go to Monserrat as we hadn't signed up for this optional tour
but when I found out that many things in Barcelona would be closed since it was Good Friday
I decided to go to Monserrat as it really did sound interesting.
Located about an hour from Barcelona you can also go by train. We left early to avoid the crowds and were the first tour bus to arrive. I can imagine how crowded it got later in the day!
But it was beautiful and not at all crowded when we got there.
It seemed to me so amazing to build something like this a thousand years ago in such a setting-not easy. This Benedictine Monastery was established in 1025 although huts were there as early as 900.
Legend has it that local children in medieval times saw lights and heard singing and followed the light and sound to a cave where they found the black virgin which brought pilgrims here.
In 1811 Napoleon's troops destroyed the buildings but the black virgin, hidden away, was safe.
In 1830's, Spanish Royalty dissolved the monasteries and convents since it found religious orders bothersome.
In the 1850's the monks returned as part of Catalunya's and all Europe's renewed Romantic appreciation of all things medieval and nationalistic. The buildings and basilica were rebuilt and Monserrat became a symbol and the heart of the Catalonian people
During the dictator, Franco's long rule from 1939 to 1973, he saw Monserrat as representing Catalonian rebelliousness. In 1970, 300 intellectuals demonstrating for more human rights were locked in the basilica for several days as punishment.
So Monserrat is not just a symbol of religion.
Their boys choir is very famous and this is the longest established choral school in Europe. For me, it was interesting as I had heard monks doing Gregorian chanting last fall in the Benedictine Monastery at St. Benoit du Lac near where i grew up in Quebec.
The olive oil looked good but I did resist a purchase!
