Bethalona: I Will Give You...

A few weeks ago I went with a friend to the highest point in Barcelona. A mountain called Tibidabo. It is the mountain to the northwest of the city, though everyone refers to it as the north. (Essentially, it is directly inland from the beach, which is sort of the southeast of the city, but again, that is referred to as south).

This mountain is a landmark in this city, as much as the CN Tower is in Toronto. Everyone knows where it is in relation to everything else. For this reason, everyone in Barcelona must venture to this mountain to see for themselves what is on top.

So, away I went with Miss Virginia on a trek to never be forgotten. We took the metro to the bottom of the mountain and proceeded to walk up it. This mountain, in comparison to others around the world, is hardly a mountain, however, it did take us 1.5 hours to walk up it, and we're both healthy, young women. We had fruit and water along the way because of course, we were crazy enough to go to the gym that morning as well (cause we needed more than just walking up a mountain to do that day!)

We only had to walk on this for a portion of the trek up, but it was fun while it lasted!

Me and Virginia

The lazy man's way up

A view of Tibidabo

Just as from the streets of Barcelona, you can see Tibidabo, you can see Barcelona from Tibidabo (and the entire walk up there!)

The green mound in the distance is Montjuic. I live just below that hill.

At the top, we stopped in a cafe for sandwiches which were overpriced but delicious, and coffee. Then it was time to walk into the huge church that sits atop this hill and looks down over Barcelona and the surrounding cities.

For those wondering, "Benvinguts" is Catalan (the language of Catalonia where Barcelona is) and it is very similar to French, but don't tell the Catalonians, they'll get mad.

Side view, as we approached

Temple de Sagrat Cor

Virginia

Me!

Welcome

We went into both the Crypt and Sanctuary of the church and took photos (no flash allowed so they're not the greatest quality) and we were just on our way out when a little old man stopped us. He asked us, in Spanish, if we would like to know the history of Tibidabo. Virginia, who knows Spanish quite fluently, and I agreed that that would be lovely. He took us into the Sancturary and we sat on a back pew. This church is much smaller in the seating area than you would imagine from the pictures, so we were actually quite close to the front of the room. He told us what "Tibidabo" means. It is Latin and it means: "I will give you." The mountain is so named because the people of Barcelona relate this mountain, from which you can see many cities, landscapes, the ocean and many other things, to the same mountain on which Jesus stood with the Devil. The Devil's offer was indeed: "I will give you all that you can see if you bow down and worship me." I will give you. Tibidabo. This reminder of the strength of Jesus in that moment is an important one for the people of Barcelona (I believe even more so since the 2008 crisis hit, because this country has not recovered).

Stained glass of Jesus and the Devil

Tibidabo

From what I could understand of the rest of the history lesson, there used to be a casino on top of this mountain at one point. This casino had a special room with a pistol, in case anyone had lost all their money and felt the need to end their life. Some men in Barcelona felt that this was not okay. There should not be a casino, let alone an opportunity to take one's life in such a simple way. These men purchased the land on the mountain and tore down the casino. It sat empty for years, until Saint John Bosco, coming from Italy on the train (20 hours), came to the city. He said the entire way here, all he could here with the sound of the wheels was "Tibidabo, tibidabo, tibidabo..." When he got to Barcelona and discovered that there was a mountain so named Tibidabo, he ventured to the mountain. Somewhere along the way it was decided that a church should be built on the hill, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. A Spanish architect by the name Enric Sagnier was contracted to design the church and so it was done. This was all in the early 1900's. The Spanish civil war in the 1930's saw that parts of the church were destroyed by machine guns and fire, but the people of Barcelona dedicated themselves to reconstructing and fixing the church. They gave time, food, and resources to the effort. Essentially, it was requested that people not bring money, but that instead, the come help. The church was completed in 1961. Since those days, there has always been someone in the church praying. They have schedules for volunteers to come in and pray all through the days and nights, every day of the year. The building has not been left empty since the Spanish civil war, and there is also security at the church as well.

Ontop of the church there is a replica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus which looks down on Barcelona. It stands a mere 7 feet tall, but can be seen from all over the city.