MONT ST. MICHEL

Cloisters and 15th C spires

Romanesque Pillar

Walls of the Abbey

Construction of new elevated causeway enabling Mt St. Michel to again be an island in high tide

The second most visited site in France, Mt St Michel, is set on a large rock island about ¾ of a mile off the Normandy coast.  It towers 700 feet above the English Channel.  From a distance, it looks like a pyramid, but as one approaches, the Gothic spires of the abbey can be seen reaching towards the sky.  The abbey dates from the 8^th century with additions and replacements made through the end of the Hundred Years War in the 15^th century.  Heavy Norman pillars underlie the Romanesque arches and finally the more delicate, soaring, pointed Gothic arches of the nave top the entire complex. The cloisters, chapels, refectories, sleeping quarters for the Benedictine monks and guest halls for visiting dignitaries provide an immersion in the history of medieval architecture.    

The town at the base of this sea and sand surrounded rock island is a warren of alleys with homes, tourist shops and even some small hotels. Before the causeway was constructed in the 19^th century, the twice-daily tides isolated Mt. St. Michel from the mainland. Although the water and sands were supposed to make it impregnable, it was assaulted and taken several times over the centuries. In fact, Mt. St. Michel was last occupied by the Germans in the 1940’s, who used its highest steeple tower as an observation post to overlook the English Channel during the war years.  After the Allied invasion of Normandy, some German soldiers were captured on site but most had already fled.

Now, tourists again stream onto the ramparts of this miraculous religious/military structure. Here, they can absorb a full overview of medieval architecture from its Norman beginnings to its Gothic glories.