Montserrat monastery

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It is the site of a Benedictine abbey, Santa Maria de Montserrat hosting the Virgin of Montserrat sanctuary and which is identified with the location of the Holy Grail in Arthurian myth.

About 40 km northwest of Barcelona lies the mountain of Montserrat, with a beautiful Benedictine monastery perched atop its eastern peaks. The mountain of Montserrat was already a religious and pilgrimage center thousands of years ago. The history of the Catholic temples begins in the 9th century, when the Catholic troops conquered these lands to the Muslims, the "Sarrains". The Montserrat monastery, which houses "La Moreneta" (the Black Virgin), Catalonia's patroness, is a magnet for tourists and pilgrims the world over. The legend of the Black Virgin dates to the 9th century, when the monastery's first chapel was constructed. The statue's sanctuary is located at the rear of the chapel, where an altar of gold surrounds the icon, and is now a site of pilgrimage.
In the Montserrat Museum you can find objects from ancient civilizations (Egypt, Cyprus and the Holy Land), liturgical objects (Berruguete, El Greco, Caravaggio, etc) and a great collection of modern art (Picasso, Dali, Casa, Nonell, etc). There is the oldest boys’ choir in Europe. Monks teach the boys “Escolanets de Montserrat”.

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