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Montserrat is a mountain near Barcelona, in Catalonia, in Spain. It is the site of a Benedictine abbey, which hosts the Virgin of Montserrat sanctuary and which is identified by some with the location of the Holy Grail in Arthurian myth. The abbey can be reached by road or by a cable car. From the abbey a funicular railway goes up to the top of the mountain, where there are various abandoned hovels in the cliff faces that were previously the abodes of reclusive monks.
The name "Montserrat" literally means "jagged mountain" and is used because of the peculiar aspect of the edifice, which is visible from a great distance. It is composed of strikingly pink conglomerate, a form of sedimentary rock. It is very popular with climbers.
The island of Montserrat in the Caribbean Sea was named after the mountain by Christopher Columbus in 1493.
Montserrat or Maria de Montserrat is a popular name for girls in Catalonia and several other parts of Spain. The name is commonly abbreviated to Montse.
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