Montserrat was a department of the

First French Empire The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental E ...

in present-day

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, named after the mountain of Montserrat. It was created on 26 January 1812 on

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

's annexation by the French Empire. Its subprefectures were Manresa and

Vilafranca del Penedès Vilafranca del Penedès, or simply Vilafranca (), is the capital of the ''comarca'' of the Alt Penedès in Catalonia, Spain. The Spanish spelling of the name, ''Villafranca del Panadés'', is no longer in official use since 1982 (Law 12/1982, of ...

. Its prefecture was Barcelona and had only one holder, Achille Libéral Treilhard, from February 1812 to March 1813, when the department was merged with that of Bouches-de-l'Èbre to form the department of Montserrat-et-Bouches-de-l'Èbre (though the civil administration of the area was suppressed and replaced by a military government).

Sources

Les modifications intérieures et extérieures du Premier Empire
{{Annexed departments of the First French Empire Former departments of France in Spain 1812 establishments in the First French Empire