Dating back over 1,300 years, the enchanting tidal island of Mont Saint-Michel is one of France’s most mesmerizing sights. This single rock sitting 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) off the country’s northwest coast encompasses a fortress-like abbey and tiny village to breathtaking effect.
Located in the department of La Manche in western Normandy, the Mount was first dreamt up by Bishop Aubert of Avranches, who in 708, had a shrine built atop the rocky outcrop in honor of Archangel Michael—the heavenly being who cast Satan from heaven. Legend has it that the angel visited the bishop three times in visions, each time requesting a sanctuary be erected on the site.
Two hundred years later, Benedictine monks were handed the site by the Duke of Normandy and proceeded to slowly construct an abbey church, overseen by the famous Norman king William the Conqueror. As the gothic abbey grew—with the lofty Romanesque church completed in the 11th century—so did the village surrounding it, and at its peak the Mount was home to 400 inhabitants.
The entire undertaking, dwellings stacked atop one another in a structural analogy of society, was one of the most challenging building projects of the Middle Ages. It has God and the church at the top; then the abbey; followed by great halls, stores, and residences; and at the bottom, the houses of farmers and fishermen.
Mythology and spiritual fervor swirled around the island’s high turrets, attracting Christian pilgrims from afar for centuries. Initially, the shore lay much further from the island: a full 7 kilometers (4.3 miles). Despite this, monastic visitors were not deterred.
Today, a 2,500-foot-long bridge constructed in 2014 takes you to the island on foot or by shuttle bus, replacing an old traditional causeway. The difference between low and high tides can differ by as much as 45.9 feet, so crossing the tidal sands instead of the bridge can be dangerous. In addition to the risk of drowning, there are patches of deep mud and quicksand.
During the Hundred Years’ War—a series of armed conflicts between England and France from 1337 to 1453—ramparts were built at the base of the island to keep out English invaders and, as a result, pilgrim numbers also dwindled.
The entrance to Saint-Pierre Parish Church, constructed in the 15th and 16th centuries, is the site of a statue of Joan of Arc.
The young peasant girl from the town of Orléans, like Bishop Aubert centuries before her, claimed miraculous visions from Archangel Michael. Deeply moved by the resistance at Mont Saint-Michel, she succeeded in leading forces to drive back the English at the Siege of Orléans.
By the time of the French Revolution (1789–1799), few monks remained in residence within the abbey, and in 1791, the building was converted into a prison. When it closed some 70 years later, under the rule of Napoleon III, over 600 prisoners were transferred to other facilities.
Decades later, after a campaign spearheaded by the writer, Mont Saint-Michel was declared a historical monument.
Check out some more photos below:
