Montserrat: The Black Madonna on the Serrated Mountain
Catalonia, Spain
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La Moreneta
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300
XP
+100 Spain
= 400 total
1 day
Montserrat: The Black Madonna on the Serrated Mountain
300 + 100 XP
Montserrat means serrated mountain, and it is exactly that — a mass of pink conglomerate laid down in a fan delta at the edge of the Ebro basin in the middle Eocene, since eroded into hundreds of rounded fingers, with a Benedictine abbey wedged into the side of it. The late-12th-century wooden Virgin known as La Moreneta is patroness of Catalonia alongside Sant Jordi; restorers in 2001 found her face and hands had darkened over the centuries, from candle smoke or a reaction in the varnish, rather than having started that colour.
Required Activities
1
of 6
Go up by rack railway or funicular rather than driving — the abbey station is the terminus of a rack line from Monistrol and of two funiculars
2
of 6
Queue to touch the orb in the right hand of La Moreneta, the late-12th-century Romanesque Virgin who is Catalonia's patroness
3
of 6
Hear the Escolania, a boys' choir of nine- to fourteen-year-olds documented here since the 14th century and one of the oldest in Europe
4
of 6
Find the Sala del Cambril, the circular three-apse chapel built between 1876 and 1884 by Villar i Carmona with a young Antoni Gaudí as his assistant
5
of 6
Walk up to Sant Jeroni at 1,236 metres, the highest point of the massif
6
of 6
Look at the rock — conglomerate from an Eocene fan delta, eroded into the fingers that give the mountain its name
Go up by rack railway or funicular rather than driving — the abbey station is the terminus of a rack line from Monistrol and of two funiculars
Queue to touch the orb in the right hand of La Moreneta, the late-12th-century Romanesque Virgin who is Catalonia's patroness
Hear the Escolania, a boys' choir of nine- to fourteen-year-olds documented here since the 14th century and one of the oldest in Europe
Find the Sala del Cambril, the circular three-apse chapel built between 1876 and 1884 by Villar i Carmona with a young Antoni Gaudí as his assistant
Walk up to Sant Jeroni at 1,236 metres, the highest point of the massif
Look at the rock — conglomerate from an Eocene fan delta, eroded into the fingers that give the mountain its name
Before you go
The Escolania does not sing during school holidays. Montserrat is extremely busy at midday — go early.
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About Catalonia
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
300 XP
Spain country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
400 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in Spain.
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