The Formation of Limestone dates years and years back, even before dinosaurs roamed the lands, when the world as we know it today was jumbled up, most of it, including England, underwater. Tiny sea creatures living in the warm tropical seas fell to the bottom of the sea bed when they died. Added to this were the rounded pebbles which were deposited by the rivers. The skeletons and shells of the sea creatures combined with the pebbles lay at the bottom of the sea and over a long time – we’re talking millions of years – layer upon layer built up. The pressure on these layers now, caused by weight of new layers pushing down on the consequently left them to ooze.

It has turned into limestone! Limestone is made of calcium carbonate- the calcium from the shells of the sea creatures and the carbon from the softer body parts. Fossils are often encountered in limestone, the remains of the sea creatures.

Limestone is a very reliable, sturdy rock. Even the Ancient Egyptians thousands of years ago built their pyramids and sphinx out of Limestone and still, after thousands of years they remain stood there. This proves how very strong limestone is. It is a very good rock to go rock-climbing on because unlike many other rocks, it won’t crumble under your feet.

Unfortunately, limestone does get warn down by weather. Limestone is a slightly alkaline rock and rain can be slightly acidic- acid rain. They are chemical opposites and when they cancel out, the limestone is easily warn down. Water can always find a way in limestone- one crack and it’ll get through. Water will stream through and find its way and over time erode more and more of the rock:

Stage One

First rain will collect on top of the limestone and slowly find little paths leading into the middle of the rock.

Stage TwoAs more and more rain falls, the rock gets weathered down

inside, and water flushes in, sort of like a mole digging its tunnels, it finds its way round until it reaches a base line. It then runs along here and forms a cave.

Stage Three

It then runs along here and forms a cave. It gets bigger and bigger and people go snorkeling and scuba (self contained underwater breathing apparatus (oh yes!) ) diving.

Final advantages and disadvantages of Limestone:

Advantages It weathers slowly Strong, sturdy rock Limestone can be quarried It looks very picturesque at times.

Disadvantages Fertility on limestone is poor Limestone can be weathered to be very steep Limestone is always formed as a mountain and therefore is high up, this means

the climate is cold. Being high up and steep could prove to be inaccessible Also the steepness and altitude means danger!

Montserrat began as all limestone does - sea creatures piling up at the bottom of the ocean, mixing with pebbles, and then turning into limestone. What’s different about Montserrat is that the limestone of this amazing mountain was forming right on the edge of the Eurasian plate. Right next to the Eurasian plate was the African plate. The two were colliding and as they were pushing towards each other, crumbling and pushing up the land.

The former river delta where the pebbles had tumbled in to create the limestone is pushed up and up until it forms a little mountain. Being pushed up from both side the stress causes stress cracks at the top of the mountain.

Overtime the limestone got harder and rockier and plants began growing on the mountain. The stress cracks got widened when the rain came in, settling between them. Slowly it begins to look like the ups and downs of a rollercoaster until…

It became “Montserrat” – Serrated Mountain in Spanish. Montserrat is now a spectacular and frequently visited mountain. It is one of Barcelona’s best tourist attractions and many holiday makes come up to Montserrat to see the beautiful sanctuary, the panoramic views and visit the “Black Madonna”

It is predicted that in many many years time, long after we’re gone, Montserrat will be so weathered that each mound at the top will become its own mountain like the picture on the right; Guilin in China,

Stalactites and Stalagmites

There are some caves on Montserrat called Les Coves del Collbato which are about 500m long. These caves consist of stalagmites (coming from the ground going upwards) and stalactites (coming from the ceiling coming down). These caves are not easily accessible but there is a protected path taking you there with a 20 minute walk. These fascinating structures are made over a long period of time when water from above finds a tiny creek entering the cave from the ceiling. This little raindrop has salt in it collected from the rocks and we’ve all seen a raindrop waiting for that last bit of water to join it and finally drip down. Well while the raindrop, which has emerged from a crack in the ceiling, is waiting for the last bit of “umpf” to let it drip, some of the

water is evaporating! It leaves behind sodium chloride which is sort of like salt. This happens millions of times until this salt builds up into a stalactite!

Montserrat is situated in Spain, in the province Catalonia and belongs to the city Barcelona. Barcelona is already a very popular tourist city and Montserrat just adds to the long list of activities there. It is 40km from Barcelona. Montserrat has many facilities and activities. The people of Catalonia are very proud of their mountain and it is on of their trademarks. Montserrat is a Holy and Religious mountain and what it is very famous for, has a sanctuary.

The sanctuary contains a very special 12th Century sculpture in it. She is called the “Black Madonna” or “La Moreneta” in Spanish meaning “The little Black One”. She has been given this name due to her dark skin colour. She

is carved of wood and Romanesque. They say that her skin

colour is black because she is simply so old and the slow change in the varnish caused by candle smoke and burning lamps in one of its previous homes, a small Romanesque church. In 1599 she was moved from the Romanesque church to Montserrat. Her existence had become a great importance to the monks living up on Montserrat. The Black Madonna is a holy, sacred figure, Jesus’ mother. She sits in the sanctuary with the baby on her lap and is on display for tourists to visit her with respect and silence. As you can see on the picture in her hand she is holding a ball. People queue up and go to visit her for luck and happiness by touching the blessed ball.

There are other theories as to why her skin is black: Long ago some explorers found her in a cave in Montserrat. The black skin colour came from the rocks and charcoal surrounding her. Since she was found here, they left her to stay on Montserrat. Another is that during the Napoleonic wars she was hidden in one of the caves in case any damage should be done to this precious ancient sculpture (That was true) They then took her from the caves and she had gone black.(That’s the legend). These are both legends and no one really knows what happened.

When you exit from visiting the Black Madonna you pass through a little tunnel, lit up cosily by candles, lit in respect for passed away loved ones. You pay money for the candles, light them and add it to this beautiful rack of candles. They then burn here until the candle has used up all the wax. It is a very touching and beautiful sight to walk amongst these candles. If you walk on a little further and exit the tunnel you come to a room where people have left behind some very dear and precious belongings. They have given them to God, praying that, say they leave their daughter’s christening dress, may she always be healthy in life and live well. Or maybe they will leave their wedding dress, asking for an everlasting happy marriage.

On the left is a photo of the sanctuary’s interior. It is silent and breathtaking in there and the beauty is mesmerizing. Everything has so much detail and shine to it and so much history. The Monastery has been a very popular religious property for many leaders desiring to own in even one

thousand years ago. It has become one of the best Shrines throughout the

Christian worlds because of the Black Madonna situated on it and the beautiful views from the perfect location. It is so popular that there are as many as 150 churches and chapels dedicated to The Black Madonna in Italian Regions alone. In 1406 Montserrat was granted independence from the abbey at Ripoll by Benedict XIII. The first abbot of Montserrat was elected by the monks. In 1560 the construction of the current church was built It was finished in 1592, adding a lot more value to Montserrat. In 1812 Montserrat was attacked by Napoleon’s army and many buildings were lift in rubble. The shrine was practically in ruins BUT the Black Madonna had been perfectly preserved as they had hidden her somewhere on the mountain. It took a long time before Montserrat was fully restored but in 1892 a railway was built and was used even up until 1957. They updated it several times and still today, using nearly the same route but with the maximum available technology, the train runs and it is an exceptional means of access to the Sanctuary and a tourist attraction in itself. Finally, in the twentieth century the new abbot, Antoni M. Marcet introduced an intense religious and cultural community. Improvements were also made during this time with cable cars and funiculars, making Montserrat more accessible.

So with all its history and wonderful nature Montserrat has a fantastic reputation. It welcomes millions of visitors annually, be it tourists or religious pilgrims coming to pay their respect to God.

Some religious people even get married in the church up on Montserrat, as they think it is the perfect location with the atmosphere and everything. Dating back ages ago Montserrat started a boys’ choir and it is still up and running today,

The Community The current Montserrat community consists of eighty Benedictine monks, give or

take. They dedicate themselves to a life of prayer, work and hospitality for the thousands upon thousands of pilgrims who visit the shrine. The monks try to live a life of peace and happiness in silence using the depth of their experience in God. Benedictine monasticism is a particularly social religion. So a monk becomes a brother amongst the others and they help each other on their paths towards God trying to live a life of love.

PrayerMonks pray in private which enables the individual to “find the light of the Word of

God,” (book). As well as praying solitarily, they all come together five times a day to

celebrate their happiness. In addition to this is the celebration of Eucharist, which is the central event of the day of the Monastery and Shrine. Many pilgrims take part in the monks’ prayers, especially with the Eucharist. Their prayers are supposed to be as continuous as possible says the Benedictine Rule.

HospitalityMonks are very kind, generous, giving people and are always welcoming people to

their homes. He must feel himself to be a brother of all people and treat his guests with a sincere and friendly manner.

WorkAll the above are the strict rules for the monks to keep to which is their work but in addition to that, they each have chores to keep the Monastery running and they also do some craft work. They are also involved in research in history, biblical studies, translation and many more. They publish a lot of books on religious and cultural themes. The monks have a relaxing but filled life.

Montserrat’s is admired not only for its beautiful sanctuary and its Black Madonna, but also for its nature. Just the shape of the mountain is amazing. The fantastic shapes of

the rock and needles in Montserrat inspired people to name them. It is strange that so many plants should be able to grow on the rocky unfertile land but the plants cling to the rock for survival, and in the end making Montserrat look so much more attractive and colourful. These plants have adapted to live 1000m above sea level in the shady damp areas, or in the sunny windblown rocky outcrops. The outcrops offer rich soils for trees to grow in (oaks, heather, pines, rosemary etc.) They also are a much liked environment for animals (including wild boar, badgers, weasels, foxes and goats!) and a great amount of birds (eagles, ravens, owls, blackbirds etc.)

Many people come up to Montserrat just for the scenery and on a clear day you can even see Mallorca. There are long walks to be taken, some longer than others. ! The scenery is natural and breathtaking. But if you do plan to take one of these walks, be warned, the paths are not all safe. There are certain parts where one slip of the foot could be fatal. So don’t bring little ones if you aren’t up for it!

People also go mountain biking on the roads but it’s dangerous because of the large amount of tourists on the road continuously descending and ascending the mountain. It’s a long tough journey.

And of course- rock climbing! Montserrat is ideal for rock climbing what with limestone being such a strong, sturdy, reliable rock which doesn’t crumble under your

feet. And when you’ve finished your climb you can enjoy a lovely meal in one of the restaurants.

So as you can see there are many ways of reaching Montserrat: car, bike, coach, funicular, rock climbing, by foot. If you have been inspired by this project, why not check it out? By Susanne Lory F2