Mont Saint-Michel (Le Mont-Saint-Michel) is a unique architectural complex consisting of a medieval abbey and a tiny commune near its walls, located on a small rocky island off the northwestern coast of France in the English Channel department.

Foundation and first centuries of history

The first buildings on the island of Mont Saint-Michel date back to 708. According to church traditions, their construction began after the Archangel Michael appeared three times to the Bishop of Avranches, St. I will give orders to build a temple on the island. According to archaeological data, it was built in the form of an artificial grotto on the site of even earlier chapels of the 6th century.

Since 933, following the Norman capture of the Contentin Peninsula, Mont Saint-Michel became an important fortress remaining in Breton hands. Around 966, the abbey became the property of the Benedictine Order. The construction of the Romanesque church of Notre-Dame-sous-Terre dates back to around this time.

In 1022, under the leadership of Abbot G. de Volpiano, construction of a new temple in the name of St. began on the upper platform of the island. Petra is 70 m long, partially based on earlier buildings. The church is crowned with a statue of St. Michael, rising to a height of 157 m. A dormitory was built near it, where the monks and the abbot lived.

Age of Prosperity

In the 12th century, the abbey of Mont Saint-Michel became one of the main centers of pilgrimage in Western Europe, and its wealth increased every year. Around 1184, Abbot R. de Torigny added two towers to the western façade of the church.

In 1204, Philip Augustus's Breton soldiers were able to capture the island and burn most of the abbey's buildings on the northern slope of the cliff. After the restoration of the abbey, during the heyday of the monastery, up to 60 monks lived in it.

In 1211, the next stage of construction work on the island began. Over the course of 17 years, a new monastery complex was built. In its eastern part there is a Romanesque style refectory with excellent acoustics. Next to it there is a kitchen room, and a level below there is a hall for receiving guests.

In the western part of the monastery, a chiostro courtyard surrounded by galleries was built. Later, three large windows were cut into the wall overlooking the bay. Under the pavement of the courtyard there was a scriptorium and workshops, and even lower there were rooms for chaplains and basements.

From the citadel of the spirit to the prison casemates
Signs of the abbey's decline appeared during the Hundred Years' War and became especially clear after its unsuccessful siege of 1424-1434 by the British. Despite the construction of a royal residence in 1470 and then a new central building in late Gothic style in 1520, its “golden years” were already behind it.

The Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel was completely abandoned during the French Revolution of the 18th century. Most of the monastery buildings until 1863 were used as a political prison with the ironic name “Mountain of Freedom”. In some of them, before the ensemble was declared a historical monument in 1877, there was a straw hat factory.

A tourist route

In 2014, the architect D. Feuchtinger designed and built a new pedestrian bridge from the continent to the island. The abbey's bastions were built during the Hundred Years' War. Their first line is to protect a small town on the island. In 1524, the engineer G. du Puy built the Gabriel Tower at the entrance to the city, providing a wide view and a large field of fire for the besiegers.

On the square at the entrance to the fortress there is a fountain in the shape of a scallop shell. A staircase leads from it to the next courtyard to the “guard house” near which English bombards of the 15th century are installed. Through the gate, built in 1435 by the architect L. d'Estuville, tourists enter a tiny square and the Grand Rue street, flanked by 19th-century houses. There are museums of the history of the island and the archbishopric here.


Protected by the barbiken behind the bridge and the canal is the Court du Boulevard. One of the buildings located on the square housed the residence of the royal representative on the island. Next, a narrow path between two rows of houses leads to the gates of the abbey. It is situated between two towers, and the courtyard beyond is dominated by the east front of the abbey and the silhouette of Corbyn Tower. Built in the XI-XVI centuries. it covers an area of ​​about 55 thousand m2 and is an example of a fortified monastery.

The castle of Mont Saint-Michel is one of the most popular attractions in France, striking with its unusualness and literally fabulous view! After all, a monastery on a rock sticking out of the watery abyss simply cannot help but look stunning

At the very top of the rock, at an altitude of almost 80 meters, the walls of the ancient abbey rise to the sky, and at the end of its spire, located at an altitude of 155.5 meters above sea level, stands a golden figurine of an archangel with a sharpened sword. Mont Saint Michel protected by the sea on all sides and only a 2-kilometer-long dam connects the mainland with the island

Victor Hugo was so impressed by Mont Saint-Michel that he nicknamed it “The Pyramid in the Ocean”

The Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel is the most visited place in France after Paris. Two regions are arguing over the territorial affiliation of this unique corner - Brittany and Normandy. Nevertheless, it is generally accepted that the border between them is drawn along the Coueson River running in the coastal sands, which does not testify in favor of Brittany. There is even a French proverb about this: “Couenon went crazy, so Mont Saint-Michel ended up in Normandy.”

The entrance to the castle starts at the Royal Gate. From here, the only street extends into the interior of the island - Grande Rue. In tiny, almost toy houses of the 15th-16th centuries, huddled together on two sides of the street, today there are cafes, restaurants, hotels and tents with a variety of souvenirs.

There are several versions of the origin of the island of Mont Saint-Michel. The first, the most plausible, states that at the beginning of the 8th century, after a strong storm in this part of the English Channel, the coastline changed. Part of the coastal meadows and forests disappeared under water and then covered with sand, and two rocky hills became islands. The largest among them, Mont Tombe (French for “Tomb Hill”), now bears the name Mont Saint-Michel. The little one is named Tombelen (“Little Grave”).
According to the second version, both rocks were dragged into the sea by giants - Gargantua's parents. Grangousier, his father, as is customary among men, carried the heaviest of the stones - Mont Tombe, and Gargamelle, Gargantua's mother, carried Tombelen. But the giants got tired and threw these stones close to the shore. Gargantua also contributed to the contours of the local relief, creating the Couesnon River. How, according to legend, he did this, I won’t tell you, you can guess for yourself...

With a lock Mont Saint Michel There are a huge number of legends associated with it. According to one of them, in 708 the Archangel Michael came to Archbishop Aubert in a dream. The Archangel ordered the bishop to dedicate to him the rock, already almost completely covered by the sea. Ober did not carry out this order, for fear of becoming a victim of his imagination. The same vision was repeated many times in the future. Then the archangel could not tolerate such disobedience and stuck his finger into Ober’s head. In order to finally convince the bishop and other Christians, he created many miracles here. By the way, the legend is a legend, but in Ober’s skull, scientists actually found a hole) It could have been caused, for example, by a battle wound or trepanation during brain surgery, or maybe the archangel actually poked his finger :)

The Monastery of St. Michael was built for a very long time - from the 11th to the 16th centuries. The Vikings settled here, William the Conqueror set out for England from here, and many kings lived here. During the Hundred Years' War between France and England, Mont Saint-Michel was the last French stronghold in Normandy, never captured by the enemy... It was never conquered, once even surviving a 30-year siege - in history it remained an impregnable castle. The castle was conquered only by tourists - today it is visited by more than 3 million tourists every year - only Paris and Versailles are more popular

The monastery of Mont Saint-Michel was closed a long time ago - back in 1790! Several decades later, ironically, the most dangerous criminals and scoundrels were imprisoned here - the castle turned into a state prison for half a century. Because of this, it is popularly called the “provincial Bastille”. Only in 1863, after a major restoration, did it open its Royal doors again, but for tourists.

Tourists admire not only the architectural delights of Mont Saint-Michel - the reason is that nowadays it becomes an island only 2 times a year. This happens due to the fact that over the past centuries the sea has receded - now most of the time the castle is surrounded by sands, but 2 times a year (during the autumn and spring equinoxes) during strong tides it becomes an island. In just one day, the water level rises by as much as 10 meters - these are the most powerful tides in all of France, and at low tide the sea retreats from the shores by 25 kilometers!

By the way, if Mont Saint-Michel seemed familiar to someone, it is probably due to the fact that the island-castle was the prototype for the fortress of Minas Tirith in the popular film “The Lord of the Rings”

Mont Saint Michel is a small rocky island turned fortified island on the northwestern coast of France. This island is the only inhabited of the three granite formations of the Bay of Saint-Michel. The city on the island has existed since 709. Currently there are several dozen residents. Since 1879, the island has been connected by a causeway to the mainland. As a result of the work of several generations of builders, a unique microcosm was created here, reflecting in architectural forms the evolution of the worldview from the Middle Ages to the present. This natural-historical complex is one of the most famous places to visit. Already in 1874 it became a recognized historical monument, and since 1979 it has been classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage of Humanity.
History of the castle
During the time of the ancient Romans, Mont Saint-Michel was not yet an island. The gloomy uninhabited rock, washed by the waves of the Atlantic, was then called Grave Mountain - perhaps the Celts used this place for their burials. The Druids came here to worship the setting sun, and the Romans subsequently preserved this ritual for a long time. In the rays of the sun plunging into the sea, dazzling legends were born: according to one of them, it was on Mogilnaya Gora that Julius Caesar was secretly buried - in a golden coffin, wearing golden sandals...
In the 5th century, part of the coast sank under water, Mogilnaya Gora turned into an island, separated from the mainland by an almost six-kilometer strip of sea. Only twice a day, at low tide, did the sea expose the muddy bottom and open a dangerous passage to the island.
Story Mont Saint Michel began in 708, when the Archangel Michael appeared in a dream to one bishop from the town of Avranches and ordered to build a chapel on Mogilnaya Gora. At first, Aubert—that was the name of the bishop, who was later canonized—was seized with doubts: neither the first nor even the second appearance of the archangel convinced him. For the third time, Archangel Michael, having again invaded the priest’s peaceful sleep, was surrounded by a menacing and majestic radiance: repeating his previous order, he hit the hesitant Norman on the forehead with his radiant finger. Waking up from sleep, Ober felt a dent on his skull and, without hesitation, went to Grave Mountain.
Miracles accompanied the construction of the chapel. A huge boulder that occupied a platform at the top of the mountain rolled down at the touch of a child’s foot. The rocky island in the middle of the sea was deprived of fresh water. But Saint Ober, having already felt the miraculous touch of the archangel, struck the rock with his staff, and a healing spring began to flow from under it. And Michael himself, surrounded by heavenly radiance, occasionally appeared to the builders on dark, stormy nights.
Many died in the quicksand of the bay, drowned in tidal waves, never reaching their cherished goal. There is a legend about a woman who, in the last month of her pregnancy, went alone to Mont Saint-Michel. Coming to the shore of the bay and seeing the close and alluring silhouette of the Mountain ahead, she, succumbing to the illusion, walked across the sands, but did not calculate her strength: the distance turned out to be too great. The tide has begun. The wind intensified, and foamy tongues of the rapidly approaching sea appeared from behind the Mountain. The woman realized that she was dying, lay down on the sand, preparing for death and begging the Virgin Mary for support. The roaring sea closed around her, but - lo and behold! - Having formed a kind of water tower, the waves did not even touch the poor woman. Remaining inside this wonderful “well,” the woman gave birth to a boy and, when the sea subsided, baptized her baby with sea water. Fishermen who went looking for her body were shocked to find her safe and sound with a child in her arms. In memory of this miracle, which occurred in 1011, Hildeber, then abbot of the abbey, erected a huge cross in the bay. For a long time it rose in the middle of the sand and waves, until the sea swallowed it... Mont Saint-Michel Bay has always been famous for its tides - the difference between the highest and lowest sea levels here reaches a record value of 15 meters. Due to the shallow depths and flat bottom, the sea at low tide retreats from the coast by 15-20 kilometers, and usually returns back at a walking speed - about 4 km/h, although, they say, in some places with a strong tailwind this speed can increase and up to 30 km/h. Legends about tides catching up with the rider, stories about carts disappearing without a trace along with horses in huge quicksands, descriptions of the terrible death of travelers dragged into wet sand. The low tide in the bay always begins somehow unexpectedly: just recently, everywhere you look, a whitish-muddy sea splashed, and sand of the same color appeared everywhere, the treachery of which almost all the French classics were “hypnotized” - from Hugo to Maupassant. This sand seems quite harmless until you descend onto its treacherously unsteady surface, covered in puddles from the recently receding water. The fact is that the sand of the bay is more like silt; it is dense when it dries, but when mixed with water, it turns into a viscous clay mass.
The tradition of pilgrimage to Mont Saint-Michel dates back to the time of St. Ober, but even today people go to the Mountain not only as a tribute to fashion - many try to stay here for several days. In the evenings, when buses full of tourists leave Mont Saint-Michel, the Grand-Rue street leading up becomes less busy and the halls of the monastery become empty. These early evening hours are the best time to explore the architectural ensemble of Mont Saint-Michel. Construction of the monastery church began in 1023 and lasted for almost a century. The tower and nave, built in the Romanesque style, have retained their original appearance. The Church rose high above the Mountain and was immediately attacked by lightning. Every 25-30 years, major fires broke out on the island. And after France annexed Normandy in 1204, the obstinate Mont Saint-Michel was set on fire by the will of the people. The old abbey completely burned down, and in 1211 the French king Philip II, apparently wanting to atone for his sin before the Archangel Michael and his burned monastery, began construction of the famous La Merveille Abbey. In just 17 years—an incredible period for that time—an architectural masterpiece was created, which is now considered a generally recognized example of medieval Gothic.
On the ground floor there was a hall for the poorest pilgrims, here they had to live and eat. Above them - in the guest hall - the abbot received and treated high-ranking persons; the third floor was a refectory for the monks. In the western section, the first floor was occupied by a storage room. On the second floor was the Knight's Hall, which, with its huge stoves, actually served to heat the monastery. This hall, originally called the scriptorium, was intended for working with manuscripts, but it was too dark, so the monks carried out all handwritten work in the refectory, where an even and clear light poured from unusually narrow, high and closely spaced windows. The third floor in the western wing was occupied by a covered gallery - a kind of “shelter of tranquility”, intended both for reading and reflection, and for walks of the monastic brethren. The unique architecture of this gallery, as if hanging between heaven and earth, in the words of one of the chroniclers of the monastery, “allowed the Lord to descend to man without losing his greatness.”

During the Hundred Years' War(1337-1453) Mont Saint-Michel, which was never taken by the British, inspired the famous Joan of Arc to her exploits, and after the war his fame went far beyond the borders of France. During this period, the inexplicable mass pilgrimages of children reached their peak. Leaving their homes and parents, thousands of boys and girls aged 7 to 15 headed to Mont Saint-Michel. A mysterious heavenly call gathered them from all over Europe - from Poland and Flanders, Germany and Switzerland. In 1469, King Louis XI established the knightly order of the Archangel Michael, and in 1472 he placed an iron cage for especially dangerous criminals in one of the dampest cells of the monastery - the infernal invention of Cardinal Balu. The cage was a palisade made of thick wooden rods bound with iron; it was suspended on chains from the vault, so that with every movement of the prisoner the cage began to swing. The unfortunate people trapped in this cage had nothing to hope for - despite the efforts of the monks who sympathized with them, pretty soon they went crazy and died of hunger and cold. The cage served the French kings well for 300 years; one of the last to suffer in it was Victor Dubourg, a journalist convicted in 1745 for a pamphlet on Louis XV. Dubourg died a year after his imprisonment, and in 1777 the terrible cage was finally destroyed. Under Napoleon, the monastery served as a state prison, and only in 1863 the prison was closed and Mont Saint-Michel was declared a national treasure. Mont Saint-Michel received the last important detail of its appearance in 1897 - the cathedral tower was crowned with a neo-Gothic spire and a 500-kilogram gilded figure of Michael the Archangel.
History of the Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel
In 966, Benedictine monks, with the permission of the Pope, founded an abbey here and built a monastery with the money of the Duke of Normandy, Richard I. In 1017, Abbot Gilderbert II began the construction of the central monastery building, the construction of which was fully completed only five centuries later. Thanks to the work and faith of the Benedictine monks, a simple chapel over this long period of time turned into a majestic abbey, built from granite quarried on the Chauzet Islands. At the beginning of the 12th century, Abbot Roger II began construction of a tower on the northern slope, which now includes the Knights' Hall and the Refectory. At this time, the abbey was already one of the pilgrimage centers of Europe. The influence of the monastery is growing. In 1204, King Philip Augustus of France captured Normandy. The ally of the French king, Guy de Tours, captured and burned the settlement near the monastery, as a result of which the monastery itself was seriously damaged by the fire. Philip Augustus, in order to atone for his guilt, donates a huge sum to the abbey, and also finances the construction of a structure on the northern slope, later called the Miracle. In 1128, the construction of the Miracle was completed. Until the 14th century, the architecture of the monastery did not change. Successive abbots gradually built up the island. The Hundred Years' War that breaks out between England and France leads to the fact that the abbey is deprived of income from its English possessions. In 1356, the British attempted to take the monastery, but the siege was unsuccessful. In 1386, the abbot of the monastery, Pierre Roy, for security purposes, significantly strengthened the entrance to the monastery, and also built three towers. Subsequently, Abbot Robbert Jolivet, who replaced Roy, erected fortress walls at the foot of the monastery. In 1469, the French king Louis XI established the knightly order of St. Michael in the abbey. In 1523, construction of the Gothic choir began. This year, the monks are deprived of the right to choose the abbot of the monastery. Now only the king has this right. Appointed by the king and not by clergy, the so-called “abbots” are completely devoid of spirituality. This leads to the monastery's treasury being spent for other purposes. All this deprives the monks of the desire to live in a monastery. The flow of pilgrims to the Mont Saint-Michel Abbey is gradually drying up. By 1580, only 13 monks lived in the monastery. Fourteen years later, the bell tower is completely destroyed by a lightning strike. Due to the small number of monks, the temple remains dilapidated for decades.

In 1176, there was another fire that destroyed the Romanesque entrance to the temple. The current system of choosing monastery abbots continued to have its destructive effect until 1870. During the French Revolution, the abbey was closed and turned into a prison. The monks are expelled, and all things from the monastery are sold. With the arrival of Napoleon III, Mont Saint-Michel regains its former glory, the prison is abolished, and the monastery is declared a national treasure of France. Work begins on its restoration. The famous abbey of Mont Saint-Michel embodies the entire medieval history of France. After the French Revolution, the Benedictine abbey served as a prison, and today it is visited by tens of thousands of tourists. Nestled on a small rocky island on the northwestern coast of France and connected by a causeway to the mainland, Mont Saint-Michel has been recognized as a monument of world significance since 1979. The island, crowned with the spire of the abbey, amazes with its grandeur. During high tide (and here is the highest tide in Europe - up to 10 m) the water arrives at a speed of 20 km/h, and the fortress built on a high rock (78 m) can only be reached by boats. At low tide you can simply walk on dry land without even getting your feet wet. The Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel is one of the main attractions of France and the real pride of the province of Normandy.
In the 10th century, Benedictines from Saint-Vendria moved to Mont Saint-Michel. And right up to the 16th century they built, built, built. There were means - the island of the Miracle of St. Michael became one of the most popular places of pilgrimage. This is still the case today. One of the special places in Christianity is occupied by the image of St. Michael. This is not just an archangel, but a warrior and intercessor. He accompanies the souls of the righteous to Heavenly Jerusalem, helps them on their way and protects them from lurking demons. In addition, it is he, according to the Apocalypse, who must stand at the head of the heavenly army in the last battle of good and evil. According to biblical legend, Archangel Michael fought with Satan in the form of a dragon and plunged him into the abyss of water. The battle ended on a mountain that later received the name Mount St. Michael. This is probably why temples high in the mountains are traditionally dedicated to St. Michael. The famous abbey of Mont Saint-Michel, which is located on a small (about 900 meters in circumference) rocky island of the same name and which was destined to become one of the main pilgrimage centers of medieval Europe, was built on the same principle.
In the 18th century, the abbey fell into disrepair and was closed during the French Revolution. From the time of Napoleon I until 1863, Mont Saint-Michel was a state prison, and then it was declared a historical monument and restored. Now Mont Saint-Michel is one of the main tourist centers in France. Over the past centuries, the sea has receded and now most of the time Mont Saint-Michel is surrounded by shifting sands, and only during high tides does it become an island. Such tides are observed here during the autumn and spring equinoxes - the water level rises by 10 meters per day - these are the strongest tides in France, and at low tide the sea moves 25 kilometers from the coast. Now a dam has been built and a highway connects the island to the mainland, making it convenient for visiting.

Myths and facts
Unlike other castles in France, which were built as defensive structures, or for the pleasure of the nobility, Mont Saint-Michel was founded as a monastery. Its history began with a legend: in 708, the Archangel Michael appeared in a vision to the Bishop of Avranches Saint Aubert and ordered the construction of a temple on the rock. But the bishop was not sure that he had interpreted the sign correctly and decided to wait. And only after the archangel appeared to him for the third time and, as proof, burned a hole on his head with his finger, the bishop had no more doubts and began construction. Today, from the original temple in the form of a grotto, depicting the cave in which the appearance of St. Michael, nothing has survived except one wall, and the skull of Saint Aubert is now kept in the Basilica of Avranches. For two centuries, the legendary island attracted pilgrims and soon became famous throughout the kingdom. Fearing the popularity of the community of canons, Duke Richard I of Normandy expelled them, replacing them with Benedictine monks in 966. The Benedictines were good builders. To accommodate pilgrims, they built a small town at the foot of the abbey, and on the top of the cliff, thanks to numerous donations, they erected a large temple with adjacent buildings. By the 13th century, hundreds of monks lived in Mont Saint-Michel. The monastery's 119 knights successfully resisted England when much of western France fell during the Hundred Years' War.
Interesting Facts:
- In 1874, Mont Saint Michel was recognized as a State Historical Monument.
- In 1972, UNESCO added Mont Saint Michel to the List of World Heritage Sites.
- The French consider Mont Saint-Michel and its bay “the eighth wonder of the world,” and Europeans consider it “the wonder of Western Europe.”
- When the tide goes out, you can go around Mount Saint-Michel, but you need to be careful and don’t go too far from the foot of the mountain - there is a high probability of getting into quicksand.
- The island-castle Mont Saint-Michel was the prototype of the fortress of Minas Tirith in the popular film “The Lord of the Rings”.
- Nowadays, Mont Saint-Michel becomes an island only 2 times a year. This happens due to the fact that over the past centuries the sea has receded - now most of the time the castle is surrounded by sands, but 2 times a year (during the autumn and spring equinoxes) during strong tides it becomes

Castle and Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel (Normandy region)

The Chateau Saint-Michel is one of the most charming attractions France. Mont-Saint-Michel was once a center of pilgrimage for monks who dreamed of visiting here to venerate Saint Michael.

However, not all righteous pilgrim-monks managed to get to the majestic 80-meter rock, separated from the land by water at high tide.

Medieval pilgrims faced death in quicksand or death from rising tides. Natural disasters have claimed many lives. The first buildings appeared here in the 8th century. According to legend, Bishop Aubert of Avranches in 708, at the behest of the Archangel Michael, built a chapel on the rock, which later collapsed.

In the 10th century, a Benedictine abbey was founded here, and in the 11th century, work began on the construction of a new Romanesque church. Gradually new buildings were erected around it. Over the centuries, they were rebuilt several times in Romanesque and Gothic styles, and a fortification system was created around the abbey.

This religious site was never home to more than 40 monks until the Revolution, when the abbey's buildings were requisitioned and turned into a prison. In 1966, exactly one thousand years after the founding of the Benedictine Monastery by Duke Richard I, the monks returned to Mont Saint-Michel. And today a small monastic community lives here, following the traditions established by the Benedictines in 966.

For many years now Castle Saint Michel(the mountain) is not an island in the truest sense of the word. Today Mont Saint-Michel is connected to the mainland by a dam along which an asphalt road runs. Due to the dam preventing the waves from rising, the bay began to gradually become polluted. In the near future, it is planned to destroy the dam and replace it with a pedestrian bridge. This will make it possible not only to easily control the number of tourists, but will also help prevent pollution of the bay, while Mont Saint-Michel will remain an island as before.

Abbey of Mont Saint Michel

The Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel is an architectural ensemble dominated by a church topped with a spire with a figurine of the Archangel Michael and a Gothic monastery complex known since 1228 as “La Merville” (the hall of the knights, the refectory, the covered arcade and cellars). It can be seen from all points of the strait, but as soon as you get closer, it begins to inspire fear.

Here's what Maupassant wrote about it: “I reached a large rock on which stands a small city with an outstanding church. Walking up a steep, narrow street, I entered the most remarkable Gothic building that was ever made for God on this earth. The building is as vast as the city, full of rooms with low ceilings and high galleries, supported by pillars.

I found myself in an amazing gigantic room made of granite, which is so skillfully made that it resembles lace work. Towers and slender bell towers, crowned with chimeras, devils, fantastic animals and monstrous flowers and interconnected by an intricate network of arches, direct their peaks high into the sky.”

The highest point of the mount (château) Saint-Michel lies below what is now the transept of the church, where the transition from Gothic to Romanesque style is particularly evident in the naves. To create a church in the traditional form of a cross, with crypts, it had to be built on a hillside, and the entire structure, made of granite from the island of Chozet, had to be completely consistent with the terrain. Space was limited, but the building grew over the centuries with an architectural ingenuity that is especially surprising for its geometry. The construction of the monastery began with the gloomy Great Hall.

It is not surprising that the building of the monastery is not particularly smooth: the church, choir, nave and tower were completed and remodeled. Along with the architecture, the style of decoration also changed. IN medieval era the walls of public rooms, such as the refectory, were decorated with tapestries and frescoes, but now you will see bare walls. To get an idea of ​​the abbey's history, look out for its curious models at the entrance, which depict four different eras.

Rest of Saint Michel Island

The fortifications of the abbey can be penetrated through the Royal Gate, which leads to the Grand Rue. Souvenir shops with overpriced goods are randomly scattered along its sides, which is a continuation of the ancient tradition of leaving pilgrims without money.

Grand Rue ends with a wide staircase with steep steps leading upward. On a plaque next to the stairs it is written that Jacques Cartier was presented here to Francis I on May 8, 1532, and was entrusted with the exploration of the Canadian coast. The Maritime Museum will introduce you to the underwater flora and fauna of the Bay of Saint-Michel, while the Archaeoscope will take you on a 15-minute journey through space and time.

Behind the 11th-century St. Peter's Basilica is the Grevin Museum. Its exhibitions are dedicated to the history of the monastery. Here you can see scenes from the life of former times, recreated using wax figures. Both museums are open from February to mid-November. Huge crowds gather every day at the North Tower to view the strait. Flocks of seagulls, despite the late hour, are mincing along the sand, but soon they will have to fly up to escape the rising water.

Useful information about the castle and abbey of Saint-Michel

On Mount Saint-Michel there is a tourist office below at the entrance to the monastery. A regular bus service connects Mont Saint-Michel with the train stations of Pontorson, Rena And Saint Malo. Although the island has a surprising number of hotels and restaurants, there are still not enough of them to cope with the real influx of tourists. Obviously, most of these establishments offer expensive services, however, almost every hotel still has cheap rooms.

Best known hotel La Mare Poulard. The legendary omelets that Leon Trotsky and Margaret Thatcher enjoyed (at different times) are prepared here, which justifies their extortionate prices. The cheapest option is Du Guesclin, where there is a TV in every room, and the Crois Blanche and Mouton Blanc hotels are of a high standard. It's sad but restaurants It's worse here than anywhere else in France, making it quite difficult to recommend anything.

Additionally, it is worth noting that large hotels and motels are lined up along the D-976 highway closest to the island, each of which has cafe or a restaurant. Among them are Motel Vert, Hotel Formule Verte and Hotel de la Digue. There is even a three-star campsite, Mont Saint-Michel, which is also on the mainland just off the road.

Most visitors to Mont Saint-Michel stay in Pontorson, which is 6 kilometers from the island and has the nearest train station with regular buses to Mont Saint-Michel. The hotels here are not particularly special, but, for example, Montgomery, which occupies an old ivy-covered mansion (13 rue du Couesnon), and Bretagne (59 rue du Couesnon) have very good restaurants. The recently renovated boarding house is located near the cathedral, 1 kilometer west of the station, in the Du Guesclin Center (21 rue du General Patton).

Visiting the Chateau Saint-Michel

Access to the island of Saint-Michel is free and unrestricted. There is a €5 fee for parking either on the highway or in areas that are underwater at high tide. If you come here by car in the summer, it is better to leave your car on the mainland somewhere near Saint-Michel and enjoy a walk (this way you can avoid possible traffic jams).

The Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel is open daily: May-September 9.00-19.00, entrance until 18.00; October-April 9.30-18.00, entrance until 17.00. Closed: December 25, January 1 and May 1. A standard ticket (€9, €6 for 18 to 25 year olds, free ticket for under 18s) entitles you to visit all accessible places on the island and join one of the excursions, which are conducted in various languages ​​(mid-June – mid-September excursion lasts 45 minutes, mid-September – mid-June – 1 hour).

A daily tour schedule is posted at the entrance. There are also more detailed tours that last a full two hours, but only in French (July and August daily 10.30, 11.30, 14.00 and 16.00; September-June Saturday and Sunday 10.30 and 14.00; 5 € extra).

Only in July and August is the Abbey of Saint-Michel open in the evenings. During this time, visitors can take a walk in the gardens (Monday-Sunday 7.00-21.00; admission is free if you have a basic ticket purchased at any other time of the day). Also, when music and video equipment is reinstalled in the abbey, you can stay here until midnight (Monday-Saturday 21.00-00.00, entrance up to 10 €, for persons 13-24 years old - 7 €).

- a famous fortress island located in northern France, on the border with. This is one of the most visited attractions in France, and the island itself, with its historical buildings, is listed as a monument.

The city on a rock surrounded by the sea has existed since 709. And now there are several dozen inhabitants on the island.

Mont Saint-Michel annually attracts thousands of tourists from all over the world. In addition to its picturesque location and ancient architecture, Mont Saint-Michel is additionally interesting due to its strong ebb and flow.

You can admire the Abbey of Saint-Michel in Christmas lights from December 14 to January 11 (from 18:00 to midnight). And you can have a snack in one of the.

Weather in Mont Saint-Michel:

Getting to Mont Saint-Michel:

The best and cheapest way to get to Mont Saint-Michel is by car, although be prepared for high parking prices and queues to enter (you can still get from the parking lot to the rock by bus, albeit a free one). By train from Paris you can travel via Pontorson, from where you can continue your journey by bus from the station.

But again, the abbey fell into decay over time and in 1791 the monastery was abandoned, and the island turned into a prison with the ironic name “Mount Libre”, where political prisoners were kept. In 1863, the buildings housed a straw hat factory. 11 years later, the island was declared a historical monument. In 1966, the monks returned here, and in 1979 the entire island, along with the abbey and the bay, was included in.

City of Saint Michel

Down at the foot of the cliff, on either side of the only road to the abbey - Grand Rue- is a small town dating back to the first half of the 13th century. About 30 people even live here permanently. In addition to working in the tourist service sector, they are also engaged in rural work: after work on draining the surrounding lands, they are breeding sheep, and local animals are famous for their especially tasty meat, which is associated with their diet in the saline meadows.

Below, among the residential buildings, is the parish church of St. Peter, near the walls of which there is a large cemetery.

Fortifications of Saint Michel

Already the initial fortifications around the island of Saint-Michel made it possible to withstand the siege of 1091. In the 14th century, a decision was made to build new, more serious fortress walls: in 1311, a wall and a outpost were built at the foot of the mountain. With the construction of a large cistern for storing fresh water, it was already possible to withstand a long siege. So in 1425, even after blowing up part of the fortifications of Saint-Michel, the besiegers were unable to capture the fortress.

During the Hundred Years' War (1337 - 1453), the fortress garrison consisted of 119 knights, and the first bastions were built at that time. In 1434, the British tried unsuccessfully to capture Mont Saint-Michel using artillery. The remaining bombards are now displayed in front of the second city gate. Remaining an impregnable fortress during the Hundred Years' War, the Mountain became a symbolic place of national identity.

The fortifications of Mont Saint-Michel consist of two rings: the outer ring protects the city, the inner ring, located at the foot of the abbey, guards the monastery itself.

Abbey of Mont Saint Michel

The Abbey of Saint-Michel is a unique architectural monument of its kind: the plan of its construction cannot be compared with any other monastery. Taking into account the pyramidal shape of the Mountain, medieval craftsmen “wound” buildings around the granite cliff. The monastery church, located at the very top, stands on crypts that form a platform that can withstand the weight of the 80-meter-long church.

Wonderful building, often referred to as the main decoration of the entire architectural ensemble of the Mont Saint-Michel Abbey, is the embodiment of the architectural excellence of the 13th century builders, who managed to ensure that two three-story buildings of the building are held on the side of the cliff. This could only be accomplished with the help of accurate calculations. A narrow aisle (the side of the nave of the building), attached to the wine storage on the ground floor, serves as buttresses (supports). This is followed by the overlapping supports of the first two levels of the building on the west side. Closer to the top of the cliff, the structures become increasingly lighter. From the outside the building is supported by powerful buttresses.

The harsh rules of monastic life also influenced the layout and architecture of buildings. Charter of St. Benedict, according to whom the monks of the abbey of Mont Saint-Michel lived, ordered them to devote their day to prayer and work. The rooms were planned taking into account these types of activities and respecting the principle of monastic privacy, i.e. with space reserved for monks only. As a result, rooms for receiving the laity were equipped on the first and second floors of the Miracle Building.

Cult of St. Mikhail

Saint Michael, the commander of the heavenly army, played an important role in Christianity in the Middle Ages. He appears in the Apocalypse (book of the New Testament): he fights and defeats the dragon, which symbolizes the demon. For a medieval person who lived in anticipation and fear of the punishment of the Almighty, Archangel Michael is a saint accompanying the souls of the departed, weighing them on the scales on the day of the Last Judgment.

Since the 4th century, the cult of St. Michael spread widely in the East, appearing in the West at the end of the 5th century, when the first temple in his honor was built in 492 at Monte Gargano (in Italy). By the year one thousand, the number of churches dedicated to this archangel had greatly increased throughout Europe. They were often built on hilltops or spurs.

At the end of the Hundred Years' War, the veneration of St. Michael took on a special scale, which was greatly facilitated by the heroic resistance of the Mont Saint-Michel Abbey. The second wave of popularity of the cult of St. Michaelmas came during the period of the Counter-Reformation: in the eyes of the church, only a militant angel could ensure the fight against the Protestant heresy.

In Christian iconography, St. Michael is often depicted with a sword and scales. He began to be considered the patron of knights and all guilds associated with weapons and scales.

The statue, hovering above the bell tower of the Mont Saint-Michel Abbey, embodies all the traditional attributes inherent in the Archangel Michael. It was completed in 1897 by the sculptor Emmanuel Fremier, commissioned by the architect Victor Petigrand, who wished to crown a new 32-meter spire with it. In 1987, the statue of St. Mikhail was restored.

Mont Saint-Michel Abbey Tour

Lower level

Having passed through Guardroom (1), which is the fortified entrance to the abbey of Mont Saint-Michel, visitors by stairs Grand Degre (2) climb to the Sault Gautier terrace. The route then goes between the church, on the right side, and the monastery housing on the left side. They are connected to each other by suspended passages. The monastic housing, built between the 14th and 16th centuries, served as a residence for the abbots.

Top level

West Terrace (3) consists of the porch of the abbey church and the first three bays of the nave, destroyed after a fire in the 13th century. The classical façade was rebuilt in 1780. The terrace offers a general view of the Bay of Saint-Michel: from the Cancale (“Oyster”) rock, which is located in the west, in, and to the steep shores in the east, in. From here you can see two huge granite blocks: Mont Dol on the mainland in the southwest and the islet of Tombelen in the north. In the open sea you can discern the archipelago of the Chauzet Islands, from where the granite was supplied for the construction of the Mont Saint-Michel Abbey.

The terrace also offers an excellent view of the neo-Gothic spire of the bell tower, erected in 1897. The spire is crowned with a gilded statue of St. Mikhail.

Abbey Church (4), built in the first decades of the year 1000, was erected on the top of a cliff, 80 m above sea level, on a platform 80 meters long. The nave of the church consists of three levels: arcades, galleries and high windows. The supporting structure of the nave is covered with a wood-clad arch. The choir, made in the Romanesque style and collapsed in 1421, was rebuilt after the Hundred Years' War, but in the flamboyant Gothic style.

Next you will go to internal monastery gallery (5). It connected the various monastery rooms and was also used for prayer and meditation. During church holidays, religious processions passed through it. The gallery is located at the top of a building built in the early 13th century, which is called the Wonderworks. Along the gallery you can go to the monastery refectory, to the kitchen, to the church, to the dormitory (shared bedroom), to the archive of charters. The central doorway, overlooking the sea to the west, would have served as the entrance to the never-built chapter hall.

To lighten their own weight, all the monastery galleries were made of wooden frames. A double row of small, slightly offset columns outlines an ever-changing perspective.

IN refectory (6) The monks ate their food in complete silence, and at this time, from a pulpit located near the southern wall, one of them read patristic instructions. There are narrow windows in the side walls of the hall, invisible from the entrance.

Average level

From here you get to crypt of large columns (8). The crypt was erected in the mid-15th century to support the Gothic choir of the monastery church.

The route then goes to crypt Saint Martin (9), erected after the thousandth year. The crypt serves as the foundation for the south wing of the church's transept. The crypt is made in the form of a huge vault with a span of 9 meters.

From here, along a small passage you can get to the huge wheel, which is occupied by the former monastic ossuary (10)(the hall where the bones of dead people removed from the graves are stored). The wheel was installed around 1820: it was used to lift food for prisoners in the Mont Saint-Michel prison. The current wheel is a copy, modeled after similar wheels from the Middle Ages.

Chapel of Saint-Etienne (11) located between a healing place, which collapsed in the early 19th century, and a monastic ossuary. It served as a chapel for the dead.

From the south side stairs (12) you can climb to the north side. The staircase is located under the west terrace and was a very busy area. She goes out to covered gallery for walks (13), made in the form of a long hall with a double nave. Its architects invented an innovation: the vaults of the hall rest on vaulted intersections - this is how Gothic art was born.

Then you will again find yourself in the Miracle Structure: Knights' Hall (14). It was built to support the internal monastery gallery and served for the work and study of the monks. Their creations have survived to this day: the manuscripts of the Mont Saint-Michel Abbey are now kept in the city of Avranches.

The visit ends at almshouse (15), located on the first level under the Guest Hall. It was in this place that the monks received the poor and pilgrims of all classes.