Montserrat was a

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of the

First French Empire The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Eu ...

in present-day

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, named after the

mountain of Montserrat Montserrat () is a multi-peaked mountain range near Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain. It is part of the Catalan Pre-Coastal Range. The main peaks are Sant Jeroni (1,236 m), Montgrós (1,120 m) and Miranda de les Agulles (903 m). It is well known ...

. It was created on 26 January 1812 on

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

's annexation by the French Empire. Its subprefectures were

Manresa Manresa () is the capital of the Comarca of Bages, located in the geographical centre of Catalonia, Spain, and crossed by the river Cardener. It is an industrial area with textile, metallurgical, and glass industries. The houses of Manresa are ...

and

Vilafranca del Penedès Vilafranca del Penedès, or simply Vilafranca (), is the capital of the ''comarca'' of the Alt Penedès in Catalonia, Spain. The Spanish spelling of the name, ''Villafranca del Panadés'', is no longer in official use since 1982 (Law 12/1982, of ...

. Its prefecture was Barcelona and had only one holder,

Achille Libéral Treilhard Achille Libéral, count Treilhard (22 December 1785 - 3 August 1855) was a French lawyer and administrator. He was briefly Prefect of Police in Paris in 1830. Napoleonic era Achille Libéral, count Treilhard was the son of Jean-Baptiste Treilhard ...

, from February 1812 to March 1813, when the department was merged with that of

Bouches-de-l'Èbre Bouches-de-l'Èbre (, "Mouths of the Ebro") was a short-lived department of the First French Empire in present-day Spain. It was created on 26 January 1812 on Catalonia's annexation by the French Empire. It incorporated Catalan territories of th ...

to form the department of Montserrat-et-Bouches-de-l'Èbre (though the civil administration of the area was suppressed and replaced by a military government).

Sources

Les modifications intérieures et extérieures du Premier Empire
{{Annexed departments of the First French Empire Former departments of France in Spain 1812 establishments in the First French Empire