Montserrat, Barcelona is a mountain located on the outskirts of this great Spanish city that possesses a Benedictine Monastery.
Montserrat was also the rock source for some sections of the famous La Sagrada Familia church that’s been under construction for decades and doesn’t look like finishing soon.
The structural engineers who designed and built the Benedictine Monastery of Montserrat, Barcelona ignored the laws of gravity, creating a place of worship entrenched in the side of the mountain.
This photo is self explantory!
It was built there marking the site of an apparition of the Black Virgin, or La Moreneta.
The La Moreneta statue there is a wooden sculpture of Mary with the baby Jesus, and has been Catalonia’s official ‘patron saint’ since 1881.
However, La Moreneta is also the place where desperate Catalonians leave offerings to somehow please the Black Virgin into making their sometimes miserable lives just a little bit better.
One of my Spanish mates called Robert took me to Montserrat, Barcelona to have a look.
‘Have a look inside, it is really bizarre,’ Roberto commented.
‘What do you mean Roberto?’ I replied with a ‘what the hell?’ tone.
‘Just go inside, you will see what I mean.’
We opened the heavy wooden door revealing a collection of items resembling an enormous garage sale.
There were wedding gowns from spinsters wishing for marriage, motorcycle helmets from passed-on loved ones, prosthetic limbs from amputees wishing their arms or legs to grow back, and family pictures and baby clothes offered in the hope of conceiving children.
Have a look – this is not a joke!
The items were placed there by desperate people who had nowhere else to go after science and society failed them, praying to the Virgin for a change in fortune.
I placed an old boarding pass there and wished that I could be a full time professional traveller.
I’m still waiting.
Other things to do in Europe besides checking out Montserrat, Barcelona – visit the House of Cheese in Florence, and the Mummies of Venzone.
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Twitter: ChinaMatt
Says:
December 2nd, 2009 at 7:22 am
Any idea how the tradition of asking for such things came about? Someone must’ve had a miracle prayer answered.
The monastery reminds me of the a little Buddhist temple I came across on the side of a mountain in Songpan, China.
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Twitter: digisol3
Says:
December 15th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
Very Stunning place From here we found our way to the Basilica. There is no admission charge to the church, but donations seem to be accepted. The basilica is beautiful! There are many ornate shrines to different Catholic saints and everything seems to be covered in a rich gold.
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February 10th, 2010 at 9:42 pm
great pictures of Montserrat, would love to visit and see the monastery, crazy structure, must have taken ages to build.
confused´s last blog ..Leon – A Jewel in Spain set amongst the Cantabrian Mountains…
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