#berga

Photo by Sergi Boixader (Facebook, Instagram).

View of the Queralt mountains with the sanctuary dedicated to Our Lady of Queralt, located at 1,200 metres above sea level in the Pre-pyrenee mountain range in Central Catalonia.

Many mornings, mist lays on the slopes of the mountain, below the sanctuary. As the day goes on, the mist might disappear and then the beautiful views are revealed, reason for which this place is known as “Catalonia’s balcony”.

The reason why this sanctuary was built there is similar to the other stories about Found Virgin Marys, a common trope in Catholic countries. According to the legend, in the 14th century a cow shepherd was looking after his herd that was grazing on these mountains. Suddenly, one of his bulls left the herd and hurried towards the cliff. The shepherd ran behind him to make him come back with the rest of animals but he found the bull kneeling in front of a small statue of the Virgin Mary which was half hidden between the rocks at the entrance to a cave, next to a cherry tree that had miraculously bloomed out of its season. The shepherd took the statue in his bag and went back to his farmhouse to show it. His surprise was that, when he opened his bag in front of his family, the statue had disappeared. The next day he went back, found the statue in the same place, put it in his bag and tied it to make sure it can’t get away. But when he opened the bag at home, again it had disappeared. Then, the shepherd and the other workers of the farm went up to the cave and saw the statue there. They understood that Mary wanted to be worshipped in that exact place, and built a small chapel.

With time, more people came on pilgrimage, so the sanctuary grew. In the place where once had been Guillem de Berguedà (famous Catalan troubadour)’s castle, in 1386 they built the main sanctuary building where Mary’s statue was placed, and right next to it they built bedrooms for the pilgrims (nowadays, this building is the restaurant and the cable car station). The Medieval sanctuary stood until 1725, when they rebuilt it into the sanctuary we can see nowadays. 

Ansichtskarte

Berga/Elster (Kr. Greiz). Erholungsheim IG Wismut Speisesaal

Reichenbach (Vogtl): BILD UND HEIMAT REICHENBACH (VOGTL) (V 11 50 A 1/B 370/77 01 10 11 232)

Foto: Bild und Heimat ([Heribert] Darr)

Carnaval !

Moi ! , derrière un masque acheté par mes parents en Catalogne, utilisé pour la Patum, de Berga

Paris, Musée de l'Homme - carnaval de l'Europe de l'Est

Tournai, Musée du Folklore

Marseille, MuCEM, expo Une Autre Italie - masques contre le mauvais œil - Calabre, 1970

idem : masque de Boé et de cerf - Sardaigne