Legends of Montserrat

The best known legend of the discovery of the Romanesque carving of the Virgin of Montserrat explains that the shepherds of the Mas Riusec de Monistrol grazed their flock on the mountain of Montserrat when they saw a bright light that came from a cave located under a cliff on the Llobregat river. The shepherds decided to make this prodigy known to the clergy of Monistrol and this to the bishop of Vic who immediately wanted to find out what was happening in that place. The bishop, together with the shepherds, arrived to the cave from where the light came out and some heavenly songs and found the image of a Virgin with the child Jesus sitting on the lap. The bishop decided to take the image to Manresa but when he arrived at the plain where the Monastery is currently located, all remained immobile without being able to advance, which was interpreted as that the Virgin wanted to stay in this place. The bishop ordered that a chapel be built there, where the image of the Virgin of Montserrat…

The Cavall Bernat

The most emblematic peak of the entire Montserrat massif is undoubtedly the Cavall Bernat. The legend of its origin says that a woodcutter who had to transport beams of wood to the Llobregat, the devil lent him a horse called Bernat, fast as a lightning, to help him in this work. 'Cavall Bernat, Cavall Bernat, descends the wood to the Llobregat' says that the woodcutter said to the horse.

The Bruc Simbaler

The historical fact from which this well-known legend starts is the defeat of the French troops commanded by General Schwartz on 6 and 14 June 1808 before the troops of neighboring villages and regular soldiers. It was the first defeat suffered by French troops.

Fray Garí

Legend has it that the hermit Fra Joan Garí was commissioned to remove from the devil the body of Count Guifré's daughter. But the devil tempted him and Fra Garí raped and murdered the Count's daughter. Once he realized what he had done, he went to Rome to seek forgiveness from the Pope. He heard the story of Fra Garí and forgave him his terrible sins by imposing a penance on him: I had to walk four staples until a child said to him, "Garí, stand up, your sins are forgiven."

The supposed great river of Montserrat

Sometimes one has the habit of walking amongst piles of books, old in some cases, of offer in others, which are not given too much attention from the beginning. This was how La Catalu'a Misteriosa (sic, 1977) came to our hands, the author of which was D’Arbó, a well-known journalist of paranormal subjects. The book included a chapter “Geological Mysteries” [p. 137] that mentioned a fantastic underground river in Montserrat, the access to which seemed impossible today.