Origin
It is said that the Greek princess ‘Irene Làscaris’, passed through Montblanc on her way to Zaragoza, carrying an image of the Virgin. On a little hill near the town the oxen that were pulling the image stopped. This made them think that the image wanted to stay in that place. The princess asked the king Jaume II for a permit to build a convent. It was in 1296 and, since then the nuns revere the image of the Virgin ‘Mare de Déu de la Serra’, which has turned into the town’s Patron Saint, and it is a reason for great veneration on part of the population. It was crowned in 1906 and since then every 25 years there are extraordinary festivities to celebrate it.
