Visit the Mont Saint Michel Abbey, June 2023

Highlight

Once you have climbed up to the Abbay Du Mont-Saint-Michel in Région Normandie, France, look out over one of the most beautiful bays in the world, taking in "Le Merveille" (The Wonder) the village and the secular fortifications. Every Rock, Gothic style, the steps you climbed, all take you on an unforgettable journey through history.

From the dream of Saint Aubert of Avranches, in which Saint Michael appeared three times in 708, to visits by the Kings of France from Phillippe Auguste to Francois I, the Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey has also been known as the "Bastille of the sea", as it was totally transformed into a prison between 1793 and 1863. Since the times of Napoleon III, it has been a major historical monument and the property of the State, and has undergone a very extensive, attentive restoration programme. It continues ti build its reputation in the 21th century through its varied cultural programme.

Mont-Saint-Michel is the first property in France to be listed as a World Heritage site in 1979, the Mont-Saint-Michel and its bay, with its stunning natural surroundings and exceptional architectural heritage, exemplifies the unique universal values upheld by UNESCO. The subject of a second World Heritage listing in 1998, as a pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela, in France, the Mont-Saint-Michel is still an important centre for spirituality.

Abbay Du Mont-Saint-Michel

Legend

Before the construction of the first monastic of France establishment in the 8th century, the island was called "Mont Tombe" (Latin: tumba), meaning to grave. According to a legend, the archangel Michael appeared in 708 to Aubert of Avranches, the bishop of Avranches, and instructed him to build a church on the rocky islet, but he did not comply because he thought that the devil had entered his dream, so he ignored it. Until the third dream, Michel poked his finger at Aubert's head and when he wakes up, he was stunned that there really was a hole in his head, and then he decided to build a temple on top of the mountain.

In 708, The Archangel Michael appeared in dream of Aubert of Avranches, the bishop of Avranches.

The relic of Aubert's skull, complete with hole where the archangel's finger pierced it, can still be seen at the Saint-Gervais Basilica in Avranches. It is more generally believed nowadays that the skull is in fact a prehistoric relic showing evidence of trepanation.

Abbay Du Mont-Saint-Michel of Normandy

In 933, William I Longsword, Ruler of Normandy, annexed the Cotentin Peninsula from the weakened Duchy of Brittany. This made the Mont Saint-Michel Abbey definitively part of Normandy, and is depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry, which commemorates the 1066 Norman conquest of England. Harold Godwinson is pictured on the tapestry rescuing two Norman knights from the quicksand in the tidal flats during the conflict against Conan II, Duke of Brittany. Norman ducal patronage financed the spectacular Norman architecture of the abbey in subsequent centuries.

William I Longsword, Ruler of Normandy.

Bayeux Tapestry scenes 16 and 17: William and Harold at Mont-Saint-Michel (at top centre), Harold rescuing knights from quicksand

In 966, the Mont Saint-Michel Abbey was constructed.

During the Hundred Years' War

the Hundred Years' War was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages, between date 24 May 1337 – 19 October 1453 (116 years, 4 months, 3 weeks and 4 days). The Kingdom of England made repeated assaults on the island but was unable to seize it due to the abbey's improved fortifications.

In 1423-24, The English initially besieged the Mont Saint-Michel Abbey, and then again in 1433–34 with English forces under the command of Thomas de Scales, 7th Baron Scales. Two wrought-iron bombards that Scales abandoned when he gave up his siege are still on site. They are known as les Michelettes (Michelettes du Mont Saint-Michel).

The Mont Saint-Michel's resolute resistance inspired the French, especially Joan of Arc.

Joan of Arc (French: Jeanne d'Arc, 1412 – 30 May 1431)

In 1469, Louis XI of France founded the Order of Saint Michael, he intended that the abbey church of the Mont Saint-Michel become the chapel for the order, but because of its great distance from Paris, his intention could never be realized.

French Revolution

By the time of the French Revolution, between date 5 May 1789 – 9 November 1799 (10 years, 6 months, and 4 days), there were scarcely any monks in residence. The abbey was closed and converted into a prison, initially to hold clerical opponents of the republican regime. High-profile political prisoners followed.

In 1836, influential figures—including Victor Hugo—had launched a campaign to restore what was seen as a national architectural treasure.

In 1863, The prison was closed.

Victor-Marie Hugo, 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885 (aged 83), was a French Romantic writer and politician.

Famous Prisoners

- Noël Béda, until his death in 1537;
- Norman Leslie, Scottish gentleman, between 1547 and 1549;
- François de Chavigny de la Bretonnière, from 1685 to 1698
- Avedick, Patriarch of Armenia, from 1706 to 1709 ;
- Victor Dubourg de La Cassagne, from 1745 to 1746 ;
- Esprit Desforges sometimes called Desroches incarcerated from 1750 to 1755
- Honoré-Auguste Sabatier de Cabre, between 1787 and 1788;
- Pierre Cousin (1705-1794)
- Laurent Lecointre, Jean Augustin Crassous de Médeuil and François Omer Granet, in 1795
- Louis de Gouvetz (1745–1796)
- Pierre Harel (1749-1826)
- Jean-Baptiste Le Carpentier, between 1820 and 1829
- Mathurin Bruneau (1784-1822)
- Louis Auguste Blanqui (1805–1875)
- Armand Barbès (1809-1870)

Redecorate

In 1872, the highly decorated French architect of historic monuments, Édouard Corroyer, was responsible for assessing the condition of the Mont Saint-Michel Abbay. It took him about two years to convince his minister to classify Mont-Saint-Michel a historic monument, and it was officially declared as such in 1874.

From then on, this highly qualified and educated architect and member of the Academy of Fine Arts devoted himself entirely to the restoration of "la Merveille". Under his direction, gigantic works were undertaken, starting with the most urgent and devoted fifteen years of his life to this work. He wrote four works on the building and his name remains forever attached to the resurrection of Mont-Saint-Michel.

Édouard-Jules Corroyer (14 September 1835, Amiens – 30 January 1904, Paris) was a French architect and restorer.

World War II

During the occupation of France in World War II, German soldiers occupied Mont-Saint-Michel, where they used St. Auburn church as a lookout post. The island was a major attraction for German tourists and soldiers with around 325,000 German tourists from July 18, 1940, to the end of the occupation of France. After the initial D-Day invasion by the allies, many exhausted German soldiers retreated to strongholds like Mont-Saint-Michel.

On August 1, 1944, Allied troops entered the Mont-Saint-Michel. They were accompanied by two British reporters, Gault MacGowan of the New York Sun and Paul Holt with the London Daily Express, and crowds of jubilant French locals.

UNESCO

In 1979, the Mont-Saint-Michel and its bay were added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites, and it was listed with criteria such as cultural, historical, and architectural significance, as well as human-created and natural beauty.

La Mère Poulard

In the only setting of its kind in the world, nestled in the middle of the medieval city of Mont Saint-Michel, La Mere Poulard offers you the charm and comfort of its hotel, the tradition and quality of its restaurant, the warmth and conviviality of its piano-bar: an unforgettable moment in this magical place full of history.