The origins of Montserrat: from myth to history

Why is the mountain called Montserrat?

Look towards Montserrat from the Anoia region and you can see where the name comes from: the peaks line up like the teeth of a saw. Montserrat means ‘serrated mountain’. In the Virolai, a hymn to the Virgin Mary, angels carve the mountain with a golden saw. Geology tells a different story. For a clue, take a closer look at the rock.

How an ancient delta became a landscape of spires

Look closely at a cliff face on Montserrat and you’ll see rounded stones of different sizes and colours embedded in the rock. About 50 million years ago, during the Eocene, rivers carried these pebbles to the edge of a sea that covered part of what is now central Catalonia. The pebbles settled alongside sand and other sediment. Over time, the deposits were compacted and cemented together to form the rock geologists call conglomerate.

The spires didn’t exist when the rivers deposited the pebbles. Much later, once the mountain had been uplifted and exposed, water widened its cracks and wore away some layers faster than others, carving cliffs, gullies and rock towers. Look for Cavall Bernat, with its distinctive solitary outline, or the cluster of pinnacles known as Les Agulles.

Before the monastery: caves and the first chapels

People knew Montserrat long before the monks arrived. Early Neolithic pottery found in two caves, Cova Gran and Cova Freda, is a quieter reminder of their presence than the basilica that draws the eye today. It places people on the mountain thousands of years before its name appeared in writing.

The earliest written mention of Montserrat cited by the abbey dates to 888. By the end of the ninth century there were four chapels: Santa Maria, Sant Iscle, Sant Pere and Sant Martí. Of those four, Sant Iscle still stands in the monastery garden.

The Santa Cova and La Moreneta: what the legend says

The legend begins in 880, when some shepherds noticed a light and heard music. The story leads them to a cave, the Santa Cova, where they found an image of the Virgin Mary. When they tried to take it to Manresa, it became so heavy that they couldn’t move it. They took this as a sign that the image was meant to stay on the mountain.

The year 880 belongs to the legend; it doesn’t come from a contemporary record of the discovery. The earliest known written account of the legend dates to 1239. La Moreneta, the statue venerated in the basilica, is a Romanesque carving that the abbey dates to the twelfth or thirteenth century. The image you’ll see if you visit the Santa Cova is a replica.

1025: Oliba founds Santa Maria de Montserrat

There was more than one monastery on the mountain. A document from 945 already mentions Santa Cecília. The year 1025 marks a different foundation: that of Santa Maria de Montserrat by Oliba, abbot of Ripoll and bishop of Vic. It was this monastery that celebrated its thousandth anniversary in 2025. The date doesn’t mark the discovery of the mountain or the building of the present basilica.

On a visit, think of three places: the spires tell the story of the rock, the Santa Cova recalls the legend of the discovery, and the basilica houses the carving of La Moreneta. If you’re planning a day trip from Can Robira, you’ll find practical details in our guide to Montserrat Monastery.