Montserrat, also known as the Shrine of the Black Virgin, is about
an hour and a half drive out of Barcelona. You can see
it from the hills surrounding Barcelona, a mountain of stone pillars
rising out of the ground, unlike anything else in sight. Montserrat
is the name of the mountain as well as the shrine on the mountain.
It has been a holy place since before Christianity, and the shrine
and Basilica is a pilgrimage site for Roman Catholics to this day.
The church complex hanging on the side of the mountain is very
impressive, especially if you imagine it without the modern road
leading to it, and imagine pilgrims climbing up the mountain
along the path with the stations of the cross. Restoration work
has been completed on the Basilica which houses the shrine of the
black virgin, and also has beautiful stained glass windows.
Getting away from the main church complex, there are paths
leading all over the mountain, with shrines and chapels along
the way. I am not Catholic, but I still found it to be a
beautiful and inspiring place.