Message about the author Edgar Po. Edgar Allan Poe - Biography - a relevant and creative path

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On the top of a mountain, not far from Barcelona, ​​nestled among the trees of a natural park, you can see the pearl of Spain, its holiest pride - the Montserrat monastery.

The chronicles of the distant year 88 contain some data mentioning that even then Mount Montserrat near Barcelona gave shelter on its top to several modest churches.

According to further historical records, after a couple of centuries, the foundation of the monastery began. Its construction lasted quite a long time, and by the 12th century the monks completed the construction. Since then, the structure of the Montserrat monastery has remained virtually unchanged architectural structure which can be observed today.

Colossal damage was caused to the historical memorial monastery during the Napoleonic battles. The completely burned and destroyed monastery managed to preserve only part of the Gothic gallery and the adjacent Romanesque portal. Therefore, over the next hundred years, the cathedral was gradually restored. Were involved in the work famous sculptors from Barcelona, talented artists and the architects of those times, what can explain the combination of several styles in the building. However, modernism is called the predominant architectural solution, because the restoration of the monastery dragged on until the 20th century.

Every year this attraction is visited by millions of people, including not only travelers and extreme sports enthusiasts, but also Catholic pilgrims from all over the world. Asking the question of what attracts all these people here, the answer can only be found by reaching this holy monastery. And here everything is simple: athletes, believers, tourists or just curious vacationers are people different levels prosperity and life views want to get here to take a sip of mountain fresh air, hear the unique singing of the world-famous boys' choir, make the most cherished desires, which will be performed by the Black Madonna. This statue, which is rightfully considered the spiritual patron of Catalonia, is credited with miraculous healing properties.

Black Madonna in Montserrat makes wishes come true

One of the amazing legends associated with the history of the Montserrat monastery is the version of how the Black Madonna became a symbol of the monastery. It is said that in one of the many caves on Mount Montserrat, residents discovered a statue of the Madonna and Child in her arms.

Black Madonna in Spain (Thomas Quine / flickr.com)

The people who found the wooden statue tried to lower the find down to show it to all the townspeople. However, each step with Madonna became increasingly difficult. When the statue simply acquired an unbearable weight, it was decided to abandon attempts to move it. Since then, the place on Mount Montserrat, where the wooden figure remained, has acquired sanctity and spiritual meaning for the residents of Barcelona.

Today's Black Madonna, who lives in the monastery, is not exactly the same figure that was left on the top of the mountain. As the legend goes, the first statue disappeared as suddenly as it appeared. The current shrine is an original relic dating back to XII century. Thanks to the monks, whose efforts were aimed at securely storing the valuable “virgin,” she preserved her appearance as naturally as possible.

Getting to the miraculous Black Virgin is not difficult, because she is located in the central room of the monastery complex - the Basilica. Climbing the main steps and turning right, you will find a separate entrance to the Madonna. Anyone can independently check the truth of the magical healing power of the statue and be convinced of it. Moreover, this can be done in different ways.

The first method is that, having visited the maiden, he makes a wish and waits for it to come true. The second one does not require additional time to fulfill the desire. You just need to look into the next room and see with your own eyes the gifts of those whose requests have already been fulfilled by the Black Madonna. Throughout the centuries, many wealthy people brought expensive things to the feet of the healing statue, asking it in return to cure infertility and serious illnesses.

Famous sights of the monastery complex

Almost thousand-year history did its job: Mount Montserrat became the keeper of many valuable relics recognized as true cultural heritage Spain.

The Montserrat Library occupies a significant place among the best libraries in Europe. Several hundred thousand books and about two thousand manuscripts are collected within its walls. The legendary Red Book of Montserrat is also kept here. It is a unique collection of texts and songs from the Middle Ages. Also, the peculiarities of the monastery library include its inaccessibility to prying eyes, and primarily to women. Entry into the monastery is open only to men who have significant achievements in world scientific activity.

Interior design of the temple (Jorge Franganillo / flickr.com)

The Montserrat Museum amazes with the variety of its stunning unique exhibits. Many collections touch the boundaries of completely dissimilar topics: from artifacts archaeological research Middle Eastern countries to Spanish antique jewelry. Visitors who do not belong to the Christian denomination will be pleasantly surprised no less than Catholics when they see in the museum incomparable icons depicting Christ and the apostles, magnificent stained glass windows and sculptures. Here you can see more than one icon depicting the Madonna and an entire exhibition Orthodox icons. It is impossible not to note the presence of masterpieces in the museum art painting Middle Ages. Works by Monet, Giordano, Dali, El Greco and others greatest masters the brushes present in the museum confirm cultural significance and the value of the monastery.

Escolania de Montserrat

The Eskolania singing school is famous throughout the Old World. Founded back in the 13th century, the glory of Escolania continues to this day. Music school with oldest history specializes in teaching boys choral singing and musical literacy.

About fifty children aged 9 to 14 years old receive not only musical, but also decent general education. Today, the boys' choir, famous far beyond Barcelona, ​​lives in the surviving wing of the ancient monastery.

Those wishing to listen to the amazing boys' choir should visit Escolania de Montserrat any day of the week except Saturday. The choir practically does not participate in performances outside the monastery complex, meanwhile, the entire repertoire consists of classical works for choir and church chants.

Boys participate in choir before change begins vocal cords. Just as the voice begins to break, the boys say goodbye to Escolania. Often, graduates of this school become talented musical performers or composers.

Information for visitors

The endless flow of tourists to the mountain attraction influenced the formation of established trade, because it is an essential component of any tourism business in the country. On the territory of this visited site there are a variety of souvenir shops and miniature shopping centers. Bible books, ceramics made in Spain, products from the monastery bakery, performances by the boys' choir on audio discs, and much more are also in demand among visitors.

While in Barcelona, ​​you should not miss the opportunity to see this unique attraction with your own eyes. Moreover, you can get to the foot of Montserrat Mountain from the capital by metro or by private car, then all that remains is to decide on the methods of climbing to the top, where the monastery complex is located. For tourists, the cable car is preferable: the journey to the top will take about 5 minutes, during which you can enjoy the breathtaking surrounding views.

When planning a visit to the monastery, you should also pay attention Special attention to his appearance, because Montserrat is not just a cult place of Barcelona or the whole of Spain. This shrine is a place of worship for deeply religious people, so it should be treated with respect. Those who have been there have the opportunity, albeit for a short time, to find spiritual harmony and get rid of worries. At the same time, it doesn’t matter at all which of the attractions will cause more interest- whether you like the museum or the choir singing of boys, will you admire the monastery or just the Black Madonna. A visit to this mountain gem near Barcelona will be an unforgettable experience.

Not far from Barcelona, ​​onmount Montserrat,at an altitude of 725 meters above sea level in 1025, a monastery of the same name was founded, which now belongs to the Benedictine order of monks. Gigantic gray-black rocks, reminiscent of stone idols, surrounded the monastery, as if taking it under their protection.

There are many legends associated with this mountain, and one of them says that the angels who descended from Heaven surrounding landscape seemed boring, and they sawed the mountain, giving the rocks a bizarre shape. Since then the mountain has been called that , which means in Catalan sawn mountain. And the rocks, similar to the silhouettes of frozen giants, turned out to be so unusual that local residents they even gave some original names: Belly of the Bishop, Face of the Holy Virgin, Camel, Finger of God, Mummy, Bernard's Horse.

Monastery of Montserrat is a center of pilgrimage and a spiritual symbol of Catalonia, since its walls protect the statue of the most revered saint in these parts - Virgin Mary of Montserrat, or Black Madonna , whose miraculous influence is legendary, has been fulfilling the cherished desires and requests of worshipers for almost 1000 years.

The sculpture of the saint is located in the Throne Hall of the Basilica of the Virgin Mary. This is valid roman catholic cathedral, which is a real work of art. The facade of the building is decorated with a sculptural group of Jesus Christ and the 12 apostles, and interior decoration The basilica amazes with its beauty and richness.

The statue of the Black Lady and Child is a 12th-century relic made from black poplar, for which the Catalans affectionately call their patroness Dark-skinned girl(La Moreneta). The saints are dressed in golden robes. The Madonna holds a sphere in her right hand - a symbol of the Universe, and in her left hand she seems to be protecting her child. The baby blesses with his right hand and holds a pine cone in his left - a symbol of fertility and immortality. The height of the statue is about a meter.

While you are standing in line, formulate your request in advance, since there will be very little time alone with the saint. When your turn finally comes, place your hand on the sphere, quietly say your wish, be sure to make some vow/promise to the Madonna and thank her.

The Black Mother of God helps not only in acquiring family happiness and childbirth, but also in many other things. There is a special room in the temple building where people bring evidence that their prayers were heard: children’s clothes, wedding photos, unnecessary crutches, dummies of organs, models of houses, cars, etc.

Choir Escolania . Here, in the Basilica of Our Lady of Montserrat, you can enjoy children's choir singing. Choristers are boys from 9 to 14 years old, pupils of the most ancient music school, founded in the 13th century. The children live permanently in the monastery and receive school education along with music. The stay at this school ends when the child's voice breaks. It is very prestigious to study here, and upon graduation, young people often connect their lives with music.

The choir takes part in all ceremonial services and performs every day except Saturday. Children have holidays in the summer and Christmas, so it is better to find out the schedule of performances in advance.

Today the choir is known far beyond Barcelona, ​​performs all over the world, and its discography Escolania has over 100 albums.

Museum. The monastery museum, located in a separate building, is available for visiting, where you can get acquainted with unique exhibitions of iconography, precious jewelry, as well as Art Gallery with masterpieces of artistic painting. Paintings by El Greco, Dali, Picasso, Caravaggio, Degas and many others are presented here.

Hiking along mountain trails. The height of Montserrat Mountain exceeds 1200 m above sea level, and it is all riddled with tourist and pilgrimage trails/routes.

Previously, for several hundred years, pilgrims risked their lives to climb to the peaks along winding mountain paths and steep cliffs.

Now such routes are not dangerous, they are rather compacted mountain roads, limited by a parapet on the side of the cliff. They have different lengths (from 15-20 minutes to 7-8 hours), and the difficulty of the route lies in the steepness of some sections.

It is a great pleasure to walk through the mountains among magnificent nature, breathe mountain air and admire the stunning beauty panoramic views to the monastery and the valley! And that’s not all: along the way there are chapels, monuments, sculptures dedicated to scenes from the lives of saints, and on observation platforms There are specially equipped places for picnics.

You can cover more than one route in one day, and if you wish, use the funicular and cable car. Hiking along the trails of Montserrat Mountain has never left anyone indifferent!

Currently monastery territory is a modern tourist and pilgrimage complex with a large parking lot, hotels, shops, restaurants, souvenir shops, and a market where local residents sell the fruits of their labor.

In shops and shops you can buy an audio guide in any language, a map of the monastery territory, route maps for hiking, and CDs with recordings of the famous choir Escolania, postcards, religious items, Jewelry, children's toys and, of course, figurines of the Black Madonna. The most popular products are cheeses, sausages, honey, pastries, fig bread and liqueurs created according to ancient recipes of Benedictine monks.

The area is large, well-groomed and very beautiful. You can just take a walk, relax on a bench, enjoying the mountain air, stunning scenery and architecture. There is security on the territory.

And finally, some tips:

A visit to Montserrat will require at least a full day;

It is not necessary to take a tour; it is better to go on your own, but try to arrive early, before the tourist groups arrive;

Make sure you have comfortable shoes;

When hiking, it is worth taking a small snack with you;

There are fewer pilgrims and tourists in the autumn and winter periods.

Black Virgin of Montserrat (Spanish Virgen de Montserrat, also widely used affectionate nickname La Moreneta(With Catalan. - “Dark-skinned girl”)) - a highly revered sculptural image Virgin Mary With As a baby, stored in Benedictine monastery Montserrat, located on the mountain of the same name in the autonomous community Spain Catalonia.
11 September 1881 pope Leo XIII officially approved the Black Virgin of Montserrat as patroness Catalonia and crowned her according to the available catholic church traditions of coronation of especially revered images. The annual celebration of Moreneta is held April 27.

Story

The queue of pilgrims and tourists to the Black Virgin

Madonna of Montserrat

According to legend in 880 The sculpture of the Black Virgin was found in a cave on Mount Montserrat by a group of children who saw light pouring out of the cave. Upon learning of this find, Bishop Manresa ordered the statue to be transported to his city. But it turned out to be impossible to do this, since the sculpture had an unbearable weight. The bishop realized that the Virgin Mary wanted the statue to remain on the mountain, so he decided to build a monastery dedicated to St. Mary on Montserrat, on the site of which 1025 A Benedictine monastery was founded here.
The original sculpture has not survived in XII century has been replaced with a copy.

Description

Sculptural image carved from poplars has a height of 95 cm. The Virgin Mary is depicted sitting with the Child on her lap. In her right hand she holds a sphere that symbolizes the universe. Baby Jesus right hand raises it in a blessing gesture, and holds it in his left hand """pine pine cone""". The images of the Virgin Mary and the Child are made in a grotesque manner and little correspond to the simplified images typical Romanesque style.
The crowns and clothes of the Virgin and Child are golden. The face and hands are dark, almost black, in color, which determined the name of the sculpture. More likely dark color was not original, but appeared as a result of darkening of the varnish under the influence of the heat of candles for a long time.

Altar chapel

The sculpture of the Black Virgin is located in the altar chapel in

January 18th,17:35

Leo the Isaurian. Reformer.

The reasons why the admirers of icons won in the “iconoclast war” that lasted three centuries are simple. A short historical episode shows this well.

There is a commandment that was written on the tablets, two flat stones kept in the Ark of the Covenant - “Do not create for yourself an idol or any image... Do not worship them and do not serve them..”

And a supporter of that commandment, the Byzantine Emperor Leo III, who considers sculpture-icons to be superstition and a pagan heritage, issues a decree according to which all images, both of Christ and of saints, were subject to complete destruction. That is, he did everything according to the letter of the Law, punctually following the Decalogue. There are commandments - follow them. Is not it? To begin with, the emperor, starting with himself, as befits all reformers, ordered the removal of the images hanging above the gates of his own palace... But then the unexpected happened: an extremist group of townspeople overturned the stairs and beat the imperial servants to death.

The emperor tried to do this in other places - but it turned out even worse - the inhabitants of the islands of the Greek archipelago, dissatisfied with the innovations, formed a fleet to capture Constantinople and overthrow Leo the Third. The uprising was suppressed, but a residue remained. At that time, the church was not yet divided into Catholic and Orthodox, and Leo III acted as its head. Pope Gregory II came out in defense of the icons and wrote letters in which he denounced the emperor as a heretic: “If you persist in your intentions, we will be innocent of the shedding of blood that will be the consequence of this struggle, let the responsibility for this blood fall on your own head.”.

The emperor persisted in heresy (as we see, even strict adherence to the letter of the Old Testament can be heresy), and a lot of blood was shed during the subsequent complete defeat of the imperial troops. It should be added that the Lombards, who professed the Arian heresy and fought against both the Pope and the Emperor, were also drawn into the war.

As a result of that war, the king of the Franks, Charlemagne, becomes emperor of the New Roman Empire, and his subjects are able to perform the needs of the cult in accordance with their wishes within the framework of Christianity. Meanwhile, in the east, the struggle with icons continued. Emperor Constantine prohibits monasticism as contrary to the Bible - church lands and property were confiscated, monasteries were closed, and the wearing of monastic robes was prohibited. A council was convened and lasted six months. As a result, it was decided to ban all images of God and saints, and anyone who would worship sculptures and icons would be considered a heretic, an enemy of the church. Yes, yes - a heretic and an enemy of the church.

The result of the religious war that lasted more than a hundred years in Byzantium was the defeat of the supporters of the literal interpretation of the Commandments. All restrictions and prohibitions were canceled by Empress Irina, and monasticism was restored.

Black Madonna.

The Black Madonna (Notre-Dame) is a statue of Our Lady and Child, a Madonna with a black face. The veneration of the Black Madonna in France, as well as in other parts of Europe, is one of the unsolved puzzles in Catholic Church. Everyone understands that the Virgin Mary had nothing to do with Negroid race. And at the same time, in France there are 272 Black Madonnas (data from Marie Durand-LeFebvre), in Spain there are about 50, in Italy - 30, in Germany - 19. In Chartres Cathedral there is the “Underground Virgin Mary” (Notre-Dame-sous-Terre) , and in Poland the Black Mother of God is one of the most revered images - black"Boska Częstochowa's womb."

How did She appear? Since there is a riddle, there is no shortage of solvers. The origin of the Black Madonna is associated with ancient pagan cults. Some of these assumptions are true, some are not. For example, in Rome they really knew about the villainously killed Osiris, his wife Isis, who miraculously conceived the baby Horus. Even in such a provincial city at that time as Pompeii there was a Temple of Isis. Her images are almost exact copy Virgin Mary. The Gallic Celts also had images of the Mother and Child. Not to mention ancient goddesses Earth, if you dig deeper into the cultural layers. The “Paleolithic Venus” was worshiped everywhere.

Of course, nothing passes without a trace and ancient beliefs do not die immediately. The ancient gods leave, but the world continues to be ruled by love and death. The Gauls had Brigid, also called Belisama (The Most Brilliant). She didn't occupy last place in the Roman pantheon of gods, and nevertheless successfully survived the reforms of Emperor Constantine. Antique statues They destroyed her like idols - but they didn’t dare, no hand was raised. The Black Maiden from Languedoc was found near a spring gushing out of the ground. The site was subsequently excavated and found encased in marble. thermal source, according to chronicles, known to the Romans during their Gallic campaigns.

A similar story happened in Le Puy-en-Velay. There, nearby, there was a Druidic dolmen, of which only the top slab remains. They called it “the stone that saves from fever.” The Romans, out of altruism, made it part of the temple, where the slab continued to serve the same medicinal purposes. Subsequently, there was an apparition of the Virgin Mary here, who showed one widow the place of healing. Thus, Belisama's healing miracles rightfully went to the Virgin of Puy, who was brought by Louis IX from the crusade. This king was also called "saint Louis, révérait avec ferveur la Madone du Puy."
It would seem that everything is simple here - yes, they say, the connection of times, the pagan heritage and Christians in general, like, borrowed the cult of the Mother of God, the omnipresent grace of motherhood.

Firstly. Possibly borrowed. But let’s ask ourselves: where did they borrow it from? From the Middle East? Among the Jews, like the Old Testament? But the fact is that Jews have no cult of the Mother of God in principle. And Muslims don't. Just as there are no “images”. And in general, this seems to be one of the fundamental differences between Christianity and Judaism - the cult of the Mother of God. And why borrow something that in itself constitutes the basis of faith?

Second. If the Black Madonna is a consequence of forgotten and now still known pagan cults, then why is she black? The Egyptian Isis was not depicted as black, and among the pharaohs there were still no blacks, despite the revolutionary video of Michael Jackson. Unless, of course, you count the first African-American President of the United States. There were also no black characters in the various ecstatic eastern cults adopted by the Romans. And it is unlikely that blacks were popular with our ancestors in earlier times.

The answer to this is that in the ancient Romanesque churches it was stuffy and smoky - the images darkened - they became sooty over time. In the fire of conflagrations. This suits some people and explains everything. But the fact is that the sculptures were deliberately made from rare varieties of dark and black ebony wood. And in other cases they were specifically composite - the face and hands were black, and the bodies were clothes made of light wood. In addition, stone sculptures were made from black stone. In any case, this applies to the most ancient ones. In more late times some sculptures were deliberately painted black. This was done consciously, following early examples and, most likely, out of poverty. These early examples... Most of them are French, like most of those that have come down to us. They come from places of settlement of the Cathars, Albigensians and... Templar settlements.

Provence, Languedoc. In Toulouse, there is still a tradition of offering to the Black Virgin of Dorada a belt woven from red and white ropes. The fact that in the Templar temples sculptures of the Black Virgin stood in a place of honor is beyond doubt. She was the patroness of the Templars, and even the Teutons. As well as the fact that the most revered images of Her were brought by them from crusades. She was depicted on the banners of warriors who organized tournaments in Her honor. Most likely, it was the Templars who were the root cause of the cult of the Black Madonna, which became ubiquitous in Europe. Provence became a transit point to Spain. The crusading brothers brought it to Italy and Germany. In the one hundred years between 1170 and 1270, no less than 80 cathedrals dedicated to Notre-Dame appeared and 500 churches were built in Her glory. Most of these monuments were built in areas where the cult of the Black Madonna already existed or the image was miraculously acquired - there are many such cases.

During construction you need to get a little tired. Special temples were built for the Black Madonnas - new ones. The era of phenomenally beautiful has begun gothic style. Of course, the builders were the Templars. Aren't you surprised? In 1139, Pope Innocent II granted the order a unique privilege: the right to build its own churches according to own projects. It is not indicated where in Palestine they learned to handle stone so deftly. Neither the Jews nor the Turks, in any case.
On the contrary, what they built, say, in Jerusalem, aroused admiration for its novelty.

"Witness" Theoderic describes the Temple Mount in 1174:
“On the other side of the palace (Al-Aqsa Mosque), the Templars built a new building, its height, width and length, its basements and refectories, stairs and roof are completely inconsistent with the customs of this country. Indeed, its roof is so high that if I mentioned its height, none of the listeners would believe me.”

This was before the massive construction of Gothic structures in Europe. The “new building” described by Theoderic lasted until the 50s of the last century and was, for unknown reasons, demolished during the reconstruction of the Temple Mount undertaken by the Arabs. The soaring roofs and arches that so amazed the monk - distinguishing feature Gothic, typical of Chartres and other French cathedrals. And you, gentlemen and ladies, this architecture will not leave you indifferent if you carve out a little money from your budget and find time to please your aesthetic feelings live, disconnected from the matrix.

In Chartres Cathedral you can see the Virgin of Chartres. It is considered the most ancient pilgrimage site. It is assumed that this antique sculpture Isis, "made before the adoption of Christianity." But this is just a modern copy based on the image late XVIII centuries, since ancient sculpture was destroyed in the 15th century and was replaced wooden sculpture with the Baby on her lap, which in turn burned down in 1793. Isn't it interesting? The guides will not tell you the reasons for this unusual story, will not, out of political correctness, mention the “Reformation” and the French Revolution - unless you specifically ask. But it was not the Taliban and inquisitors, but “progressive revolutionaries” who for some reason burned the statue. And the story of the double death and rebirth of this “Black Maiden” is not at all unique.

Hunting.

When I became interested in the material, every now and then I came across similar repetitions in descriptions of the history of numerous Black Maidens - in most cases, when it came to statues of the “Templar” time. The statue was destroyed by the Huguenots, destroyed by Protestants, burned during the Revolution, stolen, lost - well, and with variations - "saved at Rev. but mutilated", "saved from destruction at Rev", "disappeared in the 16 C", "which was destroyed", "original BV destroyed by Huguenots", "original statue hidden from Protestants in a wall", "statue stolen in 1982 "", "ancient one disappeared 15 C", "original destroyed during Rev", "original from 10 -11 C disappeared during Rev", "destroyed by Protestants", "destroyed by Huguenots", ancient wooden BV burnt by Protestants 1562, " destroyed during Rev.. , destroyed during Rev.. , destroyed during Rev.."
Etc. etc. etc.

At the same time, the reformers developed amazing agility in the destruction of Christian shrines: they chopped up Black Madonnas with axes in public, like how icons were chopped down in Gelman’s gallery, or stole them from churches in broad daylight and dark night. In this case, only fragments or chips were found. The statues were saved, hidden in the ground and walled up in walls, but they were found and destroyed.

Probably Catholics had enough reasons for St. Bartholomew's Night. Some believe that the Huguenots lost then. Not at all. The Huguenot Mensheviks eventually received more rights than the Catholic Bolsheviks and, in addition, control over 200 cities in France. This can probably be considered the first French democratic revolution.

Also, in the spirit of the Taliban, the Great French Revolutionaries acted with the stated goal of increasing the degree of inoculation of citizens towards egalite and fraternity. But a little more sophisticated: first the statues were chopped down and then burned. So that without a trace. At the same time, treating the religious intoxication somehow selectively, they destroyed these particular statues.
Matka Boska of Częstochowa did not escape the universal fate of the Black Madonnas. She was hurt twice. For the first time, she received a blow to the neck from a Tatar arrow during the siege. The second time the Hussites stole it and tried to cut it with a sword. The thief managed to hit the icon twice - swinging it a third time, he fell dead. The icon has been restored, “scars” are visible on the face, but the real damage was more serious. They write that they have restored it more than once - the scars appear on their own. According to another version, the damage was so severe that the icon could not be restored and was painted again - the scars appeared.

Yes, a small detail to remember. In the baby's hand there is an object similar to a box. If you look more closely, then in sculptural images we may find a similar one. Not everyone. Sometimes the baby holds the ball. Sometimes Madonna holds the ball.

One of the latest cases:

“In 2002, the national relic of France, the Black Madonna, was stolen from the Notre Dame Church in Bonçon. Carved from wood in the 15th century. the statue of the Madonna with Child in her arms is endowed, according to believers, with an extraordinary healing power. For five centuries, the town in central France was a place of pilgrimage for Christians from all over Europe. The Black Madonna was in a niche and was protected by armored glass. However, the robbers managed to break into the church door and steal the wooden sculpture.”

There are three big waves“hunts” for statues – 15-16 centuries, Great French revolution 1789-1794 and.. the recent 1980s. Most of the ancient statues are only copies. To understand the full drama of what was happening and the “atmosphere” of the hunt, you need to remember the wonderful film “The Maltese Falcon”, in which several mysterious groups are searching for a black figurine of the Templars, in which something is hidden. Diamond stones, as they thought. Perhaps they were looking for something inside the Black Maidens? Stones? Remember, the film “The 5th Element”, since we are talking about cinema.

“Zorg: - Stones? There will be stones. But expenses had to be doubled.
“Money doesn’t matter, only Life matters.”

Oh, these Lucky Bessons... French filmmakers. It’s curious - Robert Serber, an American sugar, wrote in his memoirs that he called atomic bomb, dropped on Nagasaki, by a “fat man” in honor of one of the characters in The Maltese Falcon. He really liked this story. He, as a responsible scientist, had to fly to burn the Japanese alive, he was already boarding the plane runway, and... such a shame..., - he noticed that he had absent-mindedly not put on a parachute. But without a parachute - it’s impossible, sir.
Even more so without a golden parachute.

What kind of connection seems to be..., the black Madonna - the Templars - atomic bombings... There seems to be no connection...