Montserrat, a mountain range 40km north west of Barcelona, is famous for two things: religion and rock formations. The mountain is of grey conglomerate and its main axis trends from W.N.W. to E.S.E., and its circumference is about 18 m. The cable car deposits us at the main centre and the monastery at 720 metres. From there two funiculars and several trails lead into the higher reaches of the mountain, which ultimately reaches a height of 1236 metres.

The name 'Montserrat' means 'saw-toothed mountain' and it's not hard to see why. The peaks and pinnacles that rise dramatically from the massif were formed by the erosion of sedimentary deposits that were left behind when the surrounding land sank due to geological disturbance. The sediment, which resembles builders' aggregate, consists of pebbles bonded together by a hard natural cement of sand and clay. This was then eroded by the action of water, sun, rain, frost and wind, into a fantastic array of sculpted peaks, known as 'Les Agulles' or 'the needles'.

The monastery stands 2910 ft. above sea-level upon a narrow platform on the edge of the Valle Malo. It owes its existence to an image of the Virgin, said to have been carved by St Luke, and brought to Barcelona by St Peter in A.D. 30. When the Moors invaded the province in 717 the image was taken to Montserrat, where a Benedictine convent appears to have already existed, and hidden in a cave. In 880 Gondemar, bishop of Vich, was attracted to the cave by sweet sounds and smells, and there found the image, which he determined to take to Manresa. But at a certain spot on the mountain the image refused to proceed farther; there it was consequently deposited, and a chapel was erected to contain it. Round the chapel a nunnery was built, and in 976 this was enlarged and converted into a second Benedictine convent. The old monastery (monasterio antigno) is chiefly in ruins. The cloisters, belfry and part of the church were Gothic of the 15th century. The church of the new monastery was built in Renaissance style under Philip II.; in 1811 it was partially burned, and in 1880 a Romanesque apse was added. New buildings for the monks were erected under Ferdinand VII. (1784 - 1833), but left partly unfinished. During the Napoleonic wars (1808 - 1814) it was despoiled of the vast treasures which had accumulated during the middle ages. In 1835, as a result of the Carlist insurrection, the convent was deprived of its estates and the number of monks reduced to about twenty. The monks are largely occupied by the management of a school of sacred music. In 1874 the convent, which by a grant of Pope Benedict XIII. had been an independent abbey since 1410, was made subject to the bishops of Barcelona.

Nuestra Señora de Montserrat, Patrona de Cataluña (Our Lady of Montserrat, Patron Saint of Catalonia), is one of the most celebrated images in Spain, and her church is visited annually by more than 60,000 pilgrims. The image is small, black, and carved of wood, but possesses magnificent robes and jewels. In September 1881 it was solemnly crowned by Leo XIII., who sent a crown from Rome for that purpose. As the celebrity and sanctity of Montserrat increased, so did the number of devotees. Ignatius Loyola (1491 - 1556) laid his sword upon the altar of the Virgin, and, placing himself under her protection, started from Montserrat to begin his new life. Many eminent Spaniards, weary of the world, have retired to this monastery to end their days. Some preferred solitary hermitages perched among the rocks. Of these there were fifteen, eleven of which once formed a via sacra, ending at the summit of San Jeronimo. They were destroyed by the French, but the ruins of some remain. There are also caves in the mountain, some of which were formerly occupied by monks. The most celebrated of these are the cave of the Virgin, in which the santa imagen remained hidden until found by Gondemar, and the cave of Fray Juan Garin, a notorious sinner, who ended his days in the practice of revolting penances at Montserrat.