Montserrat Valencia Spain

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A Brief History of Montserrat

The forces that originated the creation of the Montserrat mountains, about 180 millions of years ago, formed an idyllic place to be inhabited. Thus, as the north part was protected by the mountains, a new valley was formed and the first men settled.

The climate, the water and the protection that the mountain offered explained the early settlements which are dated from the Bronze Era. Many rests of the typical Valencian bronze and tools for hunting or collecting fruits have been found in this area. On the other hand, proves from the Roman settlements have also been discovered, like the ruins of what could have been a Roman house and ruins of Roman hamlets in the ‘Agroix' area and near ‘Maset del Pou'.

Later, with the arrival of the Moors to the ‘Peninsula Ibérica' around the year 718, a new culture appeared and those living in the area had to adapt themselves to the new, prominent culture. It was then, when a new centre of settlement appeared set at the bottom of the mountain. Nowadays this area is ‘l'era alta', which means the highest and narrowest streets of the village.
These new Arabic inhabitants lived from agriculture and farming and they started to grow all the typical trees you can see in the area today: almond trees, vineyards and algarroba or Saint John's bread tree whose blackish, sugary pods were used as a substitute for chocolate and for animal fodder.

As time goes on, more and more fortresses were built in the valley. Both Montserrat and Montroy had defensive Arabic towers in the highest mountains, (the tower in Montroy still stands there and has become a symbol for the locals). These kinds of fortresses were built to give a roof to the inhabitants in war times and also they were the home for the most important people at the time. Fires at the top at the main towers were lit in order to warn the different villages from any danger.

Cordoba, in the south of Spain, was for many centuries the cultural and economic centre of the Arabic Spain, however this caliphate finally split up and the whole territories were divided into small kingdoms called ‘Taifas'. There has also been evidence of this period around Montserrat. At that time ‘The Alcalans Castle was built as a fortress for the wars which were very usual at that time.

With the arrivals of Christians everything changed. Christianisation was a slow but important process. Montserrat was then an ‘alqueria' (an Arabic name meaning country house) but soon became Christian after the conquest of The Valencian Kingdom by the King Jaume I in the year 1238. After this conquest, all the territories were shared among different Christian feudal lords. According to ‘El Llibre de Repartiment', a book where the land and its new owners were reflected, Montserrat was given to Lord Ximén de Tovià. The name we find in this book is the Latin name: MONTESERRATU (which means the mount which has been sawn).  From 1307 to 1763 the territory belonged to the lineage of Pérez Zapata de Calatayud and in 1599 The King Felip III awarded to Lluís Pérez Zapata de Calatayud the title of ‘Royal Earl'.

1492 was a significant date for Spain.  Not only was America discovered but it was also this year when all the Arabic people were expelled from Spain.  Of course, it took a long time to expel all the Moorish people from the Peninsula as they had been living there for centuries.  During the 15th century lots of them had to emigrate back to their original territories but many of them stayed and became Christians.  In the Montserrat Twenty Moorish convert to Christianism, as can be seen in a document dating form 1632, they had to change their names, costumes, language and religion.

From 1763 the old territory, which had belonged to Pérez Zapata de Calatayud, changes to the Villahermosa Dukedom. At the beginning of the 18th century there were about 280 inhabitants. Although being a small community, there was an important agricultural activity. They made olive oil, silk and they grew carob beans. During the 18th century the population starts growing and for the first time in centuries, many new houses were built around the old Arabic alqueria making up what today is The Main Street, The Church Square and Valencia Street.

At the end of the 18th century el ‘Posit' was built.  It was similar to a barn and used to keep cereals and wheat for all the community. New streets also appear (Sant Antoni Street and The Colombus Square). In the year 1786 there were 797 inhabitants in the village. The population kept growing during the 19th century and at the beginning of the century there were around 2400 inhabitants registered.

However, in the 20th century this continuous increment stopped due to the severe flu epidemics of 1918 which affected the whole of Europe. In Montserrat around 13% of the population died. On the other hand, The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) meant another crisis for this small village: many men joined the army and some of them never returned. The post-war period was even worse because of famine, shortage and poverty.  The civil war was followed by a long dictatorship and the crisis continued until it finished and Spain became a democratic state in 1975.

From 1975 onwards, there was an incredible increase of the population due to the Baby Boom which appeared after democracy was finally consolidated. The population kept growing because new people from the city came to live in the village or the residential areas  (urbanizaciones) where they find a better quality of life and better prices than in the city. More and more people started building summer houses (very often called ‘Chalets') and spend holidays in the village. Holidays in Montserrat become well-known for those who wanted to escape from crowded beaches and stress.

Since the beginning of this new century a new increase has been produced, on the one hand, because many people from other countries mainly from the U.K, Germany, Holland and Rumania have started moving to this peaceful area in the countryside and on the other because new streets, buildings, blocks of flats and more services are being built.  According to the census there are now about 3,000 inhabitants in the village.

Article written by Ana Del Toro Alemany
Academia TEC  (The English Corner)



The International Week of Chamber Music in Montserrat (Open Air Concert)

In July 2005 Montserrat celebrated its 25th edition of the International Week of Chamber Music with music and a 20 minute firework display, as well as some top class music.

The concerts will take place in Plaça de L'esglesia in Montserrat at 23.00 h. every night in the last week of July for 8 days. The concerts are free if you get an invitation and if you don't, don't worry because they are very cheap anyway! Last year it was about 3 Euros per person.

The tradition of this celebration started in 1981 and it has become more and more important in each edition. But why was Montserrat chosen to hold such an important festival? There are many reasons: -

First of all, for its musical tradition. In fact, Montserrat was the first village in Spain with a local Music School that started in 1923 and has nowadays an important orchestra  called S.I.U.M.M formed by over 100 musicians, most of them locals.
Secondly, for the interest of musicians related to the village. Many recognised music teachers and musicians promoted national and international concerts in 1981 and they thought that could be the beginning of a new tradition.  Thirdly, we have to say that ‘El Palau de la Música' had not been built at that time and there were not many festivals like the one they decided to start.

People from Montserrat have always been very proud to have this exceptional week devoted to music and it was supported from the very beginning by all the local representatives: Ayuntamiento, Sociedad Musical, etc.

Among the most important musicians and orchestras we could mention the following performances: The London Virtuosi (1981), Saint Martin in the Fields (1983), Moscow Orchestra (1993), Lou Bennet Trio (1996), Amatti Ensemble München (1998).

One cannot think about Montserrat without referring to music.  It is a musical village that has the honour of having one of the most important "bandas de music" in the area.  I am writing this little article to tell you what happened on the 9th July 2005.  The local "banda de musica" of Montserrat, better known as SIUM (Socitat Instructiva Union Musical de Montserrat), took part in a music contest in Valencia.  150 musicians, all of them from Montserrat, played in this special concert.  The "banda" worked really hard to enter the contest as the level is really high.  They rehearsed almost every evening for the last few months.  The event took place in the Bullring in Valencia and the entrance was free.  The concerts will started at seven and everybody was welcome.

This musical contest is one of the most important in Spain where not only Spanish "bandas" take part but also international "bandas".  It always takes place on the first week of July and that year it was important for Montserrat as it's "banda" was there to represent the village.  The evening started with the parade of all the participants in the arena.  Then each "banda" goes on stage and has it's time to play.  Every "banda" must interpret a compulsory work and then a freestyle one.  There were four participants and SIUM played third.

As you can see the Bullring in Valencia, which is one of the most represented monuments in the city, is used for many different purposes and one can enjoy a bullfight or a concert in the same place.

Written by Ana Del Toro Alemany, TEC Academia, Montserrat


Montserrat en Fiestas - Montserrat & It's local festivities

August is the time that Montserrat is ready to celebrate its yearly local festivities. The International Week of Chamber Music, which was celebrated in July, was just the beginning of the festivities. So here you have a brief ‘agenda' of what's going on for the last two weeks of August.

Everyone is welcome to enjoy the different events which are organised daily. All of them are free and usually in the street so I hope you enjoy the festivities as we do!

First Day: 19.00h - Gran Cabalgalta - Great parade around the village. It will start at Avenida Jaume I.

Days 2 & 3: 23.00h - Great concerts at the Plaza de la Iglesia by the SIUM (Societat Instructiva Union Musical de Montserrat).  Our local orchestra is considered to be one of the best in the Valencian Community and they are perhaps the most important concerts of the year. If you want to enjoy good music in the open air, it can be an excellent opportunity but be there at least half an hour before it starts if you want to take a seat, as it is usually very crowded.

-Days 4 & 5: These are the most important days of the festivities.

On the 15th  of August we celebrate La Mare de Deu ‘The Virgin Day' and it is a national festivity all over Spain.

On the 16th of August we celebrate a local festivity: The Patron Saint of Montserrat: ‘Sant Roc'. The events that will take place both days are very similar:

    * 12.00 special mass in honour to the Virgin and Saint.
    * 14.00 ‘Great Mascletá' (day fireworks)
    * 21.00 ‘Procession' in honour to the Virgin and Saint.
    * 22.30 ‘Castillo de fuegos artificiales'.   Fireworks at night.


16th- 17th August. Gran Berbena: Big Dancing Party in Plaça Constitució (Avenida Jaume I). It will start at 01.00 AM and will go on all night long. It usually finishes at 07.00 a.m. If you want to dance, drink and enjoy all types of music you mustn't miss this big party but remember to take a siesta in the afternoon! The dance usually starts with traditional Spanish Music and goes on with Latin music, salsa, the typical summer hits. From 4.00 you can enjoy more trendy music: techno, rock, heavy, funky, etc.

21st August - New trendy music at the sports centre. A great mobile disco that will start at 9.00 and will finish at 07.00.
  
From the 18th to the 27th of August - Fira Taurina- Bull Fair

There are several events that can be summarised as follows:

Every day at 13.00 h. The Village centre is closed as the ‘PROBA Y ENTRADA' takes places. How to define it? Bulls and cows running up and down the streets and people running in front or behind them for two hours. Many times the bulls are just an excuse to meet your friends and have a beer, joking and having fun. I have been many times and haven't even seen a horn!!!!

Every night at 23.45 h. Different events depending on the night. They are usually much more interesting than in the evening:

    * Bull or cow contests (the winner is of course the bravest).
    * ‘toro embolado' Bull on fire (they place two special balls on the bulls' horns and they light them. Of course the animal doesn't suffer. These events take place in the bullring but if you want to see the toro embolado it will also be in the street on the 18th. 19th, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th of August. More or less at 2.00 AM.
    * Rodadors contest- Bull acrobats, etc.


27th August - At 24.00 in Plaça Constitució- Big Dance similar to the big one on the 16th but this one to say goodbye to the festivities.

And that's all! Everybody in Montserrat enjoys the festivities a lot and I hope you so also! As you can see there is a wide variety for you to choose from, so choose which you like and have fun!!!!!!!

Written by Ana Del Toro Alemany, TEC Academia, Montserrat