Montserrat () is a multi-peaked mountain range near
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, in
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 no ...
,
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")
, ...
. It is part of the
Catalan Pre-Coastal Range
The Catalan Pre-Coastal Range ( ca, Serralada Prelitoral Catalana) is a system of mountain ranges running parallel to the Mediterranean Sea coast in Catalonia. It is part of the Catalan Mediterranean System. Its main axis runs between the Catal ...
. The main peaks are Sant Jeroni (1,236 m), Montgrós (1,120 m) and Miranda de les Agulles (903 m).
It is well known as the site of the
Benedictine abbey
An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns.
The c ...
,
Santa Maria de Montserrat
Santa Maria de Montserrat () is an abbey of the Order of Saint Benedict located on the mountain of Montserrat in Monistrol de Montserrat, Catalonia, Spain. It is notable for enshrining the image of the Virgin of Montserrat. The monastery was fo ...
, which hosts the
Virgin of Montserrat sanctuary.
"Montserrat" literally means "
serrated (like the common handsaw) mountain" in
Catalan
Catalan may refer to:
Catalonia
From, or related to Catalonia:
* Catalan language, a Romance language
* Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia
Places
* 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
. It describes its peculiar aspect with a multitude of
rock formations that are visible from a great distance. The mountain is composed of strikingly pink
conglomerate
Conglomerate or conglomeration may refer to:
* Conglomerate (company)
* Conglomerate (geology)
* Conglomerate (mathematics)
In popular culture:
* The Conglomerate (American group), a production crew and musical group founded by Busta Rhymes
** ...
, a form of
sedimentary rock. Montserrat was designated as a National Park in 1987. The Monastery of Montserrat which houses the virgin that gives its name to the monastery is also on the mountain, although it is also known as ''La Moreneta'' ("the little tan/dark one" in
Catalan
Catalan may refer to:
Catalonia
From, or related to Catalonia:
* Catalan language, a Romance language
* Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia
Places
* 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
).
Access
The Benedictine Abbey can be reached by road, by the
Aeri de Montserrat
The Aeri de Montserrat () is an aerial cable car which provides one of the means of access to the Montserrat mountain and abbey. It can be found 1 hour from the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Travelers using the cable car should take no ...
cable car, or by the
Montserrat Rack Railway
The Montserrat Rack Railway ( ca, Cremallera de Montserrat, ) is a mountain railway line north-west of Barcelona in Catalonia. The line runs from Monistrol de Montserrat to the mountain-top monastery of Montserrat.
The line is long and h ...
. 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
The Sant Joan Funicular ( ca, Funicular de Sant Joan; es, Funicular de San Juan) is a funicular railway at Montserrat, near Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. The line connects the monastery, and the upper terminus of the Montserrat Rack Railway, ...
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, while the
Funicular de la Santa Cova
The Santa Cova Funicular ( ca, Funicular de la Santa Cova; es, Funicular de La Santa Cova) is a funicular railway at Montserrat, near Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. The line descends from the monastery, and the upper terminus of the Montserr ...
descends to a shrine.
Hiking and climbing
* The highest summit of Montserrat is called ''Sant Jeroni'' (Saint Jerome) and stands at above sea-level. It is accessible by hiking trails which connect from the top entrance to the
Sant Joan funicular
The Sant Joan Funicular ( ca, Funicular de Sant Joan; es, Funicular de San Juan) is a funicular railway at Montserrat, near Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. The line connects the monastery, and the upper terminus of the Montserrat Rack Railway, ...
, the monastery, or the base of the mountain. Montserrat is part of the
GR footpath
The GR footpaths are a network of long-distance walking trails in Europe, mostly in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain. They go by the following names: french: link=no, sentier de grande randonnée, vls, link=no, Groteroutepad, nl, L ...
172. The Cavall Bernat is an important rock feature popular with
climbers.
* The well-known
via ferrata ''Canal de las Damas'' (
difficulty level D) leads from
Collbató through a canal.
Geology
Montserrat is formed of conglomerate that was originally deposited in a
fan delta at the margin of the
Ebro Basin The Ebro Basin was a foreland basin that formed to the south of the Pyrenees during the Paleogene. It was also limited to the southeast by the Catalan Coastal Ranges. It began as a fully marine basin with connections to both the Atlantic Ocean and ...
, part of the
foreland basin to the
Pyrenees, during the middle
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', ...
. The conglomerate was derived from the uplifting
Catalan Coastal Ranges to the southeast of the basin and the clast type is dominated by
Triassic
The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest per ...
sedimentary rocks. The fan had an original size of between 100–150 square kilometres.
The resistance of the Montserrat conglomerate to erosion compared to the rest of the fill of the Ebro Basin explains its current mountainous nature.
The dominant clast
lithology in the conglomerate is
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...
and the sequence is
cemented by
calcite. The presence of so much carbonate in the rock has led to the formation of typical
karst landforms, such as cave systems and karst towers.
Namesakes
In 1493, Christopher Columbus named the
Caribbean island of
Montserrat ''Santa Maria de Montserrate'', after the ''Virgin of Montserrat''.
The Complete Guide to National Symbols and Emblems: Volume 2
page 724 Again, in 1606, the Spanish expedition of Luis Vaéz de Torres charted Mount Ernest island in the Torres Strait as ''Santa Maria de Montserrate'', due to its relatively high peak. Also Monserrate is a 3,152 m high mountain that dominates Bogotá's downtown which has a church built in 1650 over the ancient Muisca sacred mountain and that includes a funicular
A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite ...
and an aerial lift similar to the ones at Montserrat.
References
External links
*
LARSA Montserrat
Montserrat General Information
Gallery of oblique aerial photos of Montserrat
by Doc Searls
David "Doc" Searls (born July 29, 1947), is an American journalist, columnist, and a widely read blogger. He is the host of FLOSS Weekly, a free and open-source software ( FLOSS) themed netcast from the TWiT Network, a co-author of '' The Clu ...
Getting to Montserrat from Barcelona city
{{Authority control
Mountains of Catalonia
Shrines to the Virgin Mary
Rock formations of Catalonia
Christian hermitages in Spain
Mountains associated with Christian monasticism