Mont Saint-Michel November 8, 2006
The reason we came to Pontorson is to visit the famous Mont Saint-Michel Abbey which is a mile or so along a causeway from our hotel. The abbey is one of the icons of France often pictured protruding from the tidal waters of the river Cousnon on a strategic location of the frontier between Normandy and Brittany.
Mont Saint-Michel is thought to date back to 708 AD and to have been founded by Aubert, Bishop of Avranches. According to legend he acted on a recurring dream which bade him to place an abbey on Mont-Tomb. Those it’s beginnings were a simple oratory it became an influential Benedictine Monastery which exerted its greatest influence in the 13th and 14th centuries. Pilgrims journeyed here to honor the cult of St. Michel, the Archangel, and it became a renowned center of medieval learning. During the Hundred Years War it resisted all English assaults and was seen as a symbol French national identity. Following the Revolution and the dissolution of the religious community the abbey was used a prison until 1863. It was declared a national historic monument in 1874 and today more than 850,000 people a year visit this important part of French history. In case you’re wondering, it is a UNESCO site.
To begin, we took the bus back to the rail station this morning to get an update on the scheduled rail strike and try to line up tomorrow’s train trip. We then took the bus to Mont Saint-Michel which let us off less than a hundred feet from the gate. Even though the weather today was foggy and grey the abbey sitting on its rocky base is a sight to behold. From a distance it appears to be a storybook castle and it would not have surprised us to see nights in armor waiting at the gate. As you get closer, the parking lots, even though they were only about 10% filled now in the off season, are distracting but the overall grandeur of the island with its walled village and Abbey reaching skyward more than make up for the modern clutter.
We made our way through the gates and began the climb toward the abbey which is situated well above the causeway level. The narrow winding road through the village is lined with the ever present scourge of modern tourism, the souvenir vendors, and yet even this does not remove the awe we felt as we approached the entrance to the religious shrine. We bought our tickets, got our audio guides and began the tour. The audio tour while comprehensive is somewhat dry. I attribute this to the material being mainly focused on monastic life and how unexciting, albeit rewarding for some, this life style must have been. The guide therefore focuses more on the architectural features of the place; nice but not thrilling. We did enjoy the tour as the interior of the abbey is almost as impressive as the views of the elevations.
After our tour and strolling along the village road we stopped for lunch at an excellent café with large windows overlooking the tidal flats. Both the French cuisine and the view were worth the price and we left quite satisfied.
We chose to walk the causeway back to the hotel and stopped to take several pictures. The skies weren’t clear and the tide was out, but we will always remember our visit to Mont Saint-Michel.
Mont Saint-Michel is thought to date back to 708 AD and to have been founded by Aubert, Bishop of Avranches. According to legend he acted on a recurring dream which bade him to place an abbey on Mont-Tomb. Those it’s beginnings were a simple oratory it became an influential Benedictine Monastery which exerted its greatest influence in the 13th and 14th centuries. Pilgrims journeyed here to honor the cult of St. Michel, the Archangel, and it became a renowned center of medieval learning. During the Hundred Years War it resisted all English assaults and was seen as a symbol French national identity. Following the Revolution and the dissolution of the religious community the abbey was used a prison until 1863. It was declared a national historic monument in 1874 and today more than 850,000 people a year visit this important part of French history. In case you’re wondering, it is a UNESCO site.
To begin, we took the bus back to the rail station this morning to get an update on the scheduled rail strike and try to line up tomorrow’s train trip. We then took the bus to Mont Saint-Michel which let us off less than a hundred feet from the gate. Even though the weather today was foggy and grey the abbey sitting on its rocky base is a sight to behold. From a distance it appears to be a storybook castle and it would not have surprised us to see nights in armor waiting at the gate. As you get closer, the parking lots, even though they were only about 10% filled now in the off season, are distracting but the overall grandeur of the island with its walled village and Abbey reaching skyward more than make up for the modern clutter.
We made our way through the gates and began the climb toward the abbey which is situated well above the causeway level. The narrow winding road through the village is lined with the ever present scourge of modern tourism, the souvenir vendors, and yet even this does not remove the awe we felt as we approached the entrance to the religious shrine. We bought our tickets, got our audio guides and began the tour. The audio tour while comprehensive is somewhat dry. I attribute this to the material being mainly focused on monastic life and how unexciting, albeit rewarding for some, this life style must have been. The guide therefore focuses more on the architectural features of the place; nice but not thrilling. We did enjoy the tour as the interior of the abbey is almost as impressive as the views of the elevations.
After our tour and strolling along the village road we stopped for lunch at an excellent café with large windows overlooking the tidal flats. Both the French cuisine and the view were worth the price and we left quite satisfied.
We chose to walk the causeway back to the hotel and stopped to take several pictures. The skies weren’t clear and the tide was out, but we will always remember our visit to Mont Saint-Michel.
posted by Gary and Holly Davis @ 9:44 AM
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