Víctor Balaguer, Montserrat and Catalonia

Abstract

Víctor Balaguer proclaimed himself the “troubador of Mont· serrat” and became the ideologist who made it possible to initiate the con· struction of the modern Montserrat and to shape it as a strategic symbol within his ambitious project to create a modern state for both Catalonia and Spain. This article revisits the political, historical and intellectual works by Balaguer and analyses their relation with the modern shaping of Montserrat, as well as the complexity of the interpretation of Montserrat built by Balaguer