1000 years of Montserrat: a place of faith in natural beauty

The multi-peaked mountain range of Montserrat with its monastery and abbey is undoubtedly one of the most recognisable and visited places in Catalonia, and is certainly not to be missed in this anniversary year. The New York Times listed Montserrat as one of the ‘52 Places to Go in 2025’.

In 1025, Abbot Oliba, one of the spiritual leaders of Catalonia, founded the Abbey of Santa María de Montserrat about 720 metres above sea level. Today, it is the site of the Benedictine abbey, home to about 80 monks, and Santa María de Montserrat, which hosts the image of the Virgin of Montserrat, that has emerged unscathed from wars, fires and rebellions throughout history thanks to the monks’ safeguarding. Unsurprisingly, Montserrat remains an important pilgrimage destination.

There is quite a lot to experience in a day's stay here. For example, one of the oldest choirs in Europe, The Escolania de Montserrat. This boys’ choir of sopranos and altos performs during religious ceremonies and communal prayers. In addition, the Abbey of Montserrat is one of the oldest publishing houses in the world. Its first work was printed in 1499 and it is still in operation today. The monastery library has more than 300,000 volumes. Moreover, the basilica houses a museum that displays the artwork of many prominent artists.

Montserrat literally means ‘serrated mountain’. The peculiar rock formations have been created by wind and rain over millennia, and today Montserrat is considered one of the most picturesque places in Spain with stunning scenery.

Due to its uniqueness, Montserrat mountain was declared a natural park in 1987. Some of the rocks are reminiscent of Malaga's famous landmark, El Torcal. Incidentally, many people make night hikes to admire the sunrise from the heights of Montserrat.

The highest point, Sant Geroni, can be actually reached via paths leading from the monastery. From there you can see almost all of Catalonia and, on a clear day, the island of Mallorca.

If you are not up for the long treks and climbs, you can take a bird's eye view of the mountain's beauty via a cable car. The Aeri de Montserrat first started operating in 1930 to take visitors from the foot of the mountain to the monastery. That’s why the yellow gondola also proudly declares with an inscription that it is also celebrating its 95th anniversary this year.

Despite such an 'advanced age', the gondola moves at a speed of 5 metres per second and with a gradient of up to 45%. In five minutes you can ‘fly’ 1350 metres uphill in the company of a few dozen people, making your ears pop.

Incidentally, during SUR's visit, Montserrat was hosting one of the finishes of a stage of the Volta a Catalunya 2025 cycling race to mark the monastery's 1000th anniversary. Over a thousand religious and cultural events have been planned to be held during the celebration under the motto Ora lege labora rege te ipsum in communitate (Pray, Read, Work, Pray to yourself, in community).

Montserrat, whose feast day is 27 April, is firmly associated with Catalonia. However, Andalucía also has a church devoted to the patron saint of Catalonia. The fact is that after Columbus's discoveries, a group of Catalans settled in Seville to establish trade with the Americas. They brought with them devotion to the Virgin of Montserrat and founded a brotherhood in the late 16th century.

Eventually, the Montserrat Chapel (Capilla de Montserrat) appeared in the historic centre of the Andalusian capital. It is the headquarters of the Brotherhood of Montserrat that holds an annual procession during Semana Santa.