Page 308 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Europe

306  THE IBERIAN PENINSULA

o Monestir de Montserrat

Its highest peak rising to 1,236 m (4,055 ft), the “Serrated
Mountain” (mont serrat) is a magnificent setting for
Catalonia’s holiest place, the Monastery of Montserrat,
which is surrounded by chapels and hermits’ caves.
The earliest record of a chapel on this site is from the
9th century. The monastery was founded in the 11th
century. In 1811, when the French attacked Catalonia in
the War of Independence, the monastery was destroyed
and the monks killed. Rebuilt and repopulated in 1844,
it was a beacon of Catalan culture in the Franco years.
Today, Benedictine monks live here. Visitors can hear the
famous male choir singing the Salve Regina and the
Virolai (the Montserrat hymn) at 1pm Monday to Friday,
noon and 6:45pm Sunday (except in July and August),
and from December 26 to January 8.

Plaça de Santa Maria
The focal points of the square
are two wings of the Gothic
cloister built in 1476. The
modern monastery facade
is by Françesc Folguera.

The Way of the Cross
This path passes 11
statues representing the
Stations of the Cross.
It begins near the
Plaça de l’Abat Oliba.

Montserrat
The complex includes
cafés and a hotel. A
second funicular railway
takes visitors to nature
trails above the monastery.
For hotels and restaurants see pp330–32 and pp333–5

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