Montserrat Complete Guided Tour & The Boys Choir's Performance

The Montserrat rack railway covers the five kilometers between Monistrol de Montserrat and Montserrat. It is a route that takes you to the top of Catalonia’s most emblematic mountain, which is visible from all angles thanks to the panoramic view offered by the train’s large windows. Its history dates back to 1891, when Joaquim Carrera, an engineer who was passionate about Montserrat and Swiss mountain trains, convinced an entrepreneur to build a train between the recently-opened Monistrol de Montserrat station and the monastery.

Montserrat Natural Park is a natural space dominated by the characteristic silhouette of its eponymous mountain, a rocky massif of sandstone and extremely hard calcareous cement that over millions of years has adopted its peculiar and recognisable form. The Holy Cave, the Sant Joan and Sant Miquel chapels, and above all, Montserrat Abbey, make this place, which is just a short distance from Barcelona, an unmissable destination. Montserrat is nicknamed the ‘magic mountain’ due to the numerous legends it has generated. The first of them is the discovery of the wooden statue of the Virgin Mary, which is reputed to have been found in the so-called Santa Cova or Holy Cave in 880. Another legend tells of a woodcutter who made a pact with the Devil to receive a fast horse to carry his wood.

The legend, of which there is written testimony from 1239, says that one afternoon in the year 880 some shepherds received a visit from the Virgin Mary in the form of light and music. The vision was repeated several times and it was then when the first image of the Mother of God was found in a cave in the mountain. Even though the mountain had already been home to a number of chapels inhabited by hermits since the 9th century, it was not until 1025 that Abbot Oliba founded Montserrat Abbey and it became a pilgrimage destination. Now the monastery is inhabited by some eighty Benedictine monks who worship a Black Madonna popularly known as ‘La Moreneta’ (the little dark one), a 12th-century statue of Our Lady of Montserrat, the patron saint of Catalonia. The Virgin Mary is holding an orb, signifying the cosmos, in her right hand, while her left hand rests on the back of the Infant Jesus to indicate that the omnipotent king is her son.

The Escolania de Montserrat is one of Europe’s oldest and most renowned choirs. Its choristers, boys aged 7 to 13 who receive full musical training and schooling, perform concerts all around the world and participate in the abbey’s liturgical rites. Hearing them is a privilege and a true pleasure for the ears.

According to the abbey’s records the choir dates back to the 14th century when a religious and musical school for boys was founded. In 1474, the boys had the honour of singing for King Ferdinand the Catholic during his visit to Barcelona, and since then they have performed for leading figures the world over and everyone who wants to hear them. The Escolania choir sings several times a day and performs pieces like "Virolai", a hymn in honour of the Virgin Mary composed by Mossèn Jacint Verdaguer in 1880; Salves and polyphonic motets.