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 Two
As 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
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.
to
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.
Prayer
Monks 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.
Hospitality
Monks 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.
Work
All 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