Mont Saint Michel
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For the car ferry, see MV Mont St Michel. |
Mont Saint-Michel: Sheep graze on the reclaimed pré-salé or "salt meadow" (2004). |
Mont Saint-Michel (
Saint Michael Mount in English) is a small rocky
tidal island in
Normandy, roughly one kilometre from the north coast of
France at the mouth of the
Couesnon River near
Avranches, close to the border of
Brittany, which has led to
Breton claims to the mount. Originally the Couesnon formed the border between the two duchies, and every so often the river would shift its bank, leading to ownership of the mount shifting between them. The river's bed has now been fixed and Mont Saint Michel is now firmly in
Norman hands. Location : . It is home to the unusual
Benedictine Abbey and steepled church (built between the 11th and 16th centuries) which occupy most of the one-kilometer-diameter clump of rocks jutting out of the waters of the
English Channel. The church is crowned by a gold leaf statue of St. Michael by
Emmanuel Frémiet, reaching a height of 510 feet (155 meters) above the sea.
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Mont-Saint-Michel: An outlook of the surrounding area (2006). |
In prehistoric times the bay had been covered by the sea, which retreated during multiple glaciations, allowing
erosion to shape the coastal landscape over millions of years. Several blocks of
granite or
granulite emerged in the bay, having resisted the wear and tear of the ocean better than the surrounding rocks. These included the
Mont-Dol,
Tombelaine,
Lillemer and Mont Tombe, later called Mont Saint Michel.
The Mount was connected to the mainland via a thin natural
land bridge, which before modernization was covered at high
tide and revealed at low tide. Thus, Mont Saint Michel gained a mystical quality, being an island half the time, and being attached to land the other: a
tidal island.
However, the insular character of the mount has been compromised by several developments. Over the centuries, the coastal flats have been
polderised to create pasture. The coast south of the mount has thus encroached on the distance between the shore and the mount. The
Couesnon River has been canalised, reducing the flow of water and thereby encouraging a silting-up of the bay. In
1879, the land bridge was fortified into a true
causeway. This prevented the tide from scouring the silt round the mount. Now there are plans to remove the causeway and replace it with a bridge and
shuttle.
On
June 16 2006, French Prime Minister
Dominique de Villepin announced a 150-million Euro project (
Projet Mont Saint Michel) to build a
hydraulic dam that will help remove the accumulated
silt and make Mont Saint Michel an island again. It is expected to be completed by
2012.
See also: Couesnon river.
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The Mont Saint Michel from the south |
Le Mont-St-Michel was used in the 6th and 7th centuries as an
Armorican stronghold of Romano-British culture and power, until it was sacked by the
Franks, thus ending the trans-channel culture that had stood since the departure of the Romans in
459 AD.
Before the construction of the first monastic establishment in the
8th century, the island was called
Mont Tombe. According to legend, the archangel
Michael appeared to
St. Aubert, bishop of
Avranches, in
708 and instructed him to build a church on the rocky islet. Aubert repeatedly ignored the angel's instruction, until Michael burned a hole in the bishop's skull with his finger. The dedication to
St. Michael occurred on
October 16 708.
The mount gained strategic significance in
933 when the
Normans annexed the
Cotentin Peninsula, thereby placing the mount on the new frontier with
Brittany. It is depicted in the
Bayeux Tapestry, which commemorates the
1066 Norman conquest of
England. Ducal and royal patronage financed the spectacular
Norman architecture of the abbey in subsequent centuries.
During the
Hundred Years' War the English made repeated assaults on the island but were unable to seize it partly due to the abbey's improved fortifications.
Les Michelettes, two wrought-iron
bombards, left by the English in their failed 1423-24 siege of Mont-St-Michel, are still displayed near the outer defense wall.
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Some of the older buildings in the village still present. |
The wealth and influence of the abbey extended to many daughter foundations, including
St Michael's Mount in
Cornwall,
England. However, its popularity and prestige as a centre of
pilgrimage waned with the
Reformation, and by the time of the
French Revolution there were scarcely any monks in residence. The abbey was closed and converted into a
prison, initially to hold clerical opponents of the republican régime. High-profile political prisoners followed, but by
1836 influential figures, including
Victor Hugo, had launched a campaign to restore what was seen as a national architectural treasure. The prison was finally closed in
1863, and the mount was declared a historic monument in
1874. The Mont Saint Michel and its bay were added to the
UNESCO list of
World Heritage Sites in 1979, as they rank high on such World Heritage Site criteria as cultural, historical, and architectural significance, as well as human-created and natural beauty.
An Italian architect,
William de Volpiano, was chosen as building
contractor for the mount in the
11th century. He designed the Romanesque church of the abbey, daringly placing the
transept crossing at the top of the mount. Many underground
crypts and
chapels had to be built to compensate for this weight. These formed the basis for the supportive upward structure that can be seen today. Today Mont Saint Michel is seen as a
Gothic-style church.
Robert de Thorigny, a great supporter of
Henry II of England (who was also
Duke of Normandy), reinforced the structure of the buildings and built the main
façade of the church in the
12th century. Following his annexation of Normandy in
1204, the
King of France,
Philip Augustus, offered Abbot
Jourdain a grant for the construction of a new
gothic style architectural set which included the addition of the
refectory and
cloister.
Charles VI is credited with adding major fortifications to the abbey-mount, building towers, successive courtyards and strengthening the ramparts.
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Thick mud is exposed on the banks of the river Couesnon at low tide. |
The tides in the area shift quickly, and have been described by Victor Hugo as
"à la vitesse d'un cheval au galop" or "as swiftly as a galloping horse". The tide actually comes in at one meter per second.
The tides can vary greatly, at roughly 14 meters between high and low water marks. Popularly nicknamed "St. Michael in peril of the sea" by mediaeval
pilgrims making their way across the tidal flats, the mount can still pose dangers for visitors who avoid the causeway and attempt the hazardous walk across the sands from the neighbouring coast. The danger of drowning due to costal tides after getting caught in
quicksand continues to claim lives.
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The spire of Mont St. Michel is visible from the courtyard outside the abbey. |
The islet belongs to the French
commune Le Mont-Saint-Michel, of the
Manche département, in the
Basse-Normandie région. Population (1999): 50. The nearest major town, with an
SNCF train station, is
Pontorson.
The mount is the object of traditional, but nowadays good-humoured, rivalry between Normans and Bretons. Bretons claim that, since the
Couesnon River marks the traditional boundary between Normandy and
Brittany, it is only because the river has altered its course over the centuries that the mount is on the Norman side of the frontier. Normans display a certain proprietorial pride in the mount - for example, the Manche
département in which the mount is situated uses its silhouette in its logo - and affect mild irritation on occasions when Brittany uses the mount in tourist publicity.
Mont Saint Michel and
St Michael's Mount in
Cornwall were historical counterparts. The parallel existence of both reflects a number of corresponding places in Cornwall and
Brittany. Indeed, both have the same name in their respective languages:
carrick loz en coz in
Breton and
carrick looz en cooz in
Cornish. To this day many Cornish people consider Mont St Michel to be in Brittany, not Normandy.
Polderisation created
salt marsh meadows that were found to be ideally suited to grazing sheep. The well-flavoured meat that results from the diet of the sheep in the
pré salé (salt meadow) makes
agneau de pré-salé (salt meadow lamb), a local speciality that may be found on the menus of restaurants that depend on income from the many visitors to the mount.
The community belongs to the
Organization of World Heritage Cities.
The 1990 Bernt Amadeus Capra film
Mindwalk was filmed on the mount.
British electronic music artist
Aphex Twin released a song entitled "Mt. Saint Michel Mix+St. Michaels Mount", which was reportedly produced on his travels in both of these locations.
The Mont Saint Michel was also featured in a scene in the 2004 animated Disney movie
Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers, in which Captain Pete of the Musketeers attempted to drown
Mickey Mouse in order to carry out his plot to take over France's monarchy as king without interruption.
Pete even mentions it by name, telling Mickey before leaving the dungeon, "Enjoy your stay at the Mont Saint Michel -- they say the tide comes in faster than horses!" This ties in somewhat with the cathedral's history as a jail for political prisoners.
Mont Saint Michel, along with
St Michael's Mount was an inspiration for the design of
Minas Tirith in
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King film by
Peter Jackson.
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La Mère Poulard*
St Michael's Mount*
Official Mont Saint Michel Tourist site (English version)*
Website about Mont Saint Michel*
Website about the abbey: History, Visit, Chronology...*
Architecture and History of Abbaye du Mont-Saint-Michel*
Website about the mount in French*
Projet Mont Saint Michel — engineering project to restore the island status of Mont Saint Michel
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Satellite image from Google Maps*
Tripping Diary - Mont Saint Michel*
Mont Saint-Michel Images and some information
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Fine Art photographs of the Mont
