* The author is part of the community of readers of La Vanguardia
The sanctuary of Montgrony, in Ripollès, is a splendid viewpoint of Montseny, Pedraforca, the castle of Mataplana and many other fascinating places that we can observe beyond the cliffs of this mountain range, as seen in this extensive photographic report in Las Photos from the Readers of La Vanguardia.
According to Turisme del Ripollès, it is "in a place full of history and legends and in the middle of an exceptional natural environment", accompanied by the church of Sant Pere, where worship has been held since the 9th century.
The image of the Virgin Mary, called "the milk", is a carving from the 13th century, much remade after a fire in 1892. Tradition says that it was found in the year 804 by a shepherd and an ox.
Sant Pere de Mongrony is a temple consecrated in 1138 and maintained parish functions until the 17th century, when they were transferred to the town of Gombrèn. From this moment on, only a custodian priest and some hermits lived there.
"It has a single nave crowned by an apse and two apse in the shape of a clover. At the head we can see the typical Lombard Romanesque decoration but in general it is a sober building," as indicated in the architectural specifications.
The sanctuary of Our Lady of Montgrony is "an important center of Marian devotion, located on the foothills of Monte de Coma Ermada". It is located very close to the church of Sant Pere de Montgrony.
The first written information about the sanctuary dates back to 1400, when there was already a small construction dedicated to the Virgin Mary, excavated in the stone of the legendary scales, which we see in this photographic report.
The inn building was built around it in the 18th century, "in a first attempt to turn Montgrony into a great sanctuary." In the years 1960-1970, light and water were brought to the sanctuary, while the road became a forest track.
