I have included a brief history of Mont-Saint-Michel (follow the previous link for a Google map that shows its location in France) below, but geographically it is an body of land off the coast of France that is connected by a causeway with the mainland. If this causeway was not available, Mont-Saint-Michel would only be accessible at high tide (and the tide change here is something to behold). It is home to both an order of friars and sisters and an impressive abbey.
A Brief History of Mont-Saint-Michel
The Bishop of Avranches [a town about 20 kms away] consecrated a small church on the site in 709 AD. In 966 AD, a community of Benedictines settled on the rock at the request of the Duke of Normandy and the pre-Romanesque church was built before the year one thousand.
In the 14th century, the Hundred Years War made it necessary to protect the abbey behind a set of military constructions, enabling it to withstand a siege lasting 30 years.
The Abbey was turned into a prison during the days of the French Revolution and Empire, and needed to be restored before the end of the 19th century.
With the celebration of the monastic’s 1000th anniversary, in the year 1966 a religious community moved back to what used to be the abbatial dwellings, perpetuating prayer and returning it to its original vocation. Friars and sisters from “Les Fraternités Monastiques de Jerusalem” have been ensuring a spiritual presence since the year 2001.
At the same time as the abbey was developing a village grew up from the Middle Age. It flourished on the south-east side of the rock surrounded by walls dated for the most part from the Hundred Years war. This village has always a commercial purpose.
UNESCO has classed the Mont Saint-Michel as a world heritage in 1979 and this mecca of tourism welcomes more than three million visitors a year.
This photo, cadged from a post card at a stand gives a good perspective of Mont-Saint-Michel (at high tide.) The top of the body of land is the religious order and abbey buildings and the buildings on the lower part is the civilian dwellings
Another view of the site down the causeway in the picture on the left. We went to dinner and then returned after sunset and took the night photo.
We roamed all over the site and while it was filled with tourists, it was large and didn’t seem crowded. LL and the kids are pictured in the passageway on the right.
This picture gives you an idea of the expanse of sand visible at low tide. They also post warnings about where not to park in anticipation of high tide.
I had never seen a slate roof before. The big picture is on the left and the close up on the right.
Looking up to the abbey from the village.
Just to show that it was an active order. Some of the friars in uniform.
The abbey itself wasn’t the biggest church we’d seen but still impressive considering its location on top of a rock.
This gives an idea of what was holding it up.
The village and its commercial district.
Allister is drawn to all things medieval and implements of warfare (mostly historical) and Mont-St-Michel was no exception.
