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Basse-Normandie / Manche / Le Mont St-Michel. Abbaye du Mont-Saint-Michel - The abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel
is a unique building. Constrained by the pyramidal shape of the mount sourrounded
with the sandy grounds and quicksilver, its medieval builders wrapped the
buildings around the 80 m high granite rock. The long history of this place
is thought to date back to 708, when Aubert, Bishop of Avranches, had a
sanctuary built on Mont-Tombe (old name) in honour of the Archangel. The
mount soon became a major focus of pilgrimage. In the 10
th
century, the Benedictines settled in the abbey, while a village grew up
below its walls. By the 14
th
century it
extended as far as the foot of the rock. An impregnable stronghold durning
the hundred Years War, mount-Saint-Michel is also an example of military
architecture. Its ramparts and fortifications resisted all the English
assaultsand as a resoult the Mount became a symbol of national identity.
Following the dissolution of the religious community durning the Revolution
and until 1863 the abbey was used as a prison. Classified as a historic
monumentin 1874, it underwent major restoration work. Since then, work
has gone on regularly all over the site. Mont-Saint-Michel has been listed as a World
Heritage Site by UNESCO since 1979.
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