Montserrat - Gatehouse

At the far end of the Plaza de Santa Maria is a gatehouse (1942-68), with five round-headed arches on the lower level and three on the upper level. Reliefs in the three upper arches depict (from left to right) St Benedict, the Assumption of the Virgin (following its definition by Pope Pius XII in 1950) and St George, patron saint of Catalonia. To the left of the gatehouse are remains of the old Gothic cloister (15th C.). Between the gatehouse and the church is a small inner courtyard, with a statue of St Benedict (1927), beside which is the entrance to the monastery (public not admitted). In the gatehouse, entered from the courtyard, is the baptismal chapel, its entrance decorated with 20th century reliefs.