Montserrat: "cut mountains" and the Benedictine monastery

50 kilometers from Barcelona lies a small rocky ridge called Montserrat - "cut mountains". Here is the Benedictine monastery of the same name, a spiritual symbol and religious center of Catalonia, a pilgrimage center for Catholics from around the world. The monastery is located in one of the gorges of the ridge at an altitude of 725 m above sea level, its history goes back to the distant XI century.

A few shots from Montserrat taken during a brief trip in October 2018.

Cable car to the monastery from the valley.

Montserrat Monastery.

In the entrance area.

Courtyard in front of the cathedral.

The facade of the cathedral is the only thing that has been preserved from the ancient monastery, captured and destroyed by the French in 1811.

The main nave of the cathedral.

Staircase to the monastery relic - Black Madonna.

The Black Virgin of Montserrat is the main shrine and patroness of Catalonia.

According to legend, the statue of the Virgin was found in 880 in one of the Montserrat caves. In 1025, a monastery was founded near this place. The original statue of the 9th century has not been preserved, now a copy of it was created in the monastery, created in the 12th century and saved by the monks during the Napoleonic invasion in the 19th century.