Mont
Saint-Michel is one of the most recognised tourist
destinations in the world – not just in France.
Yes it's touristy but don't let that put you off.
Not only is the location of Mont Saint-Michel
spectacular, the tides around it beggar belief.
The tidal movements can exceed 36 feet – which makes for great danger
for walkers who think they will walk out to the Mount and don't realise just
how fast the water can come in.
Mont Saint-Michel is just about on the boundary between
Normandy and Brittany.
I can't imagine how they managed to build a huge abbey
on this rock – this was back in the 8th Century. Surely a think big project!
Saint Michel is French for the Archangel St
Michael. He is one of the 3 archangels.
There are still monks and nuns on the mount today. And if you time it right you can watch them
intone a service in the chapel.
Mont St-Michel was a place of pilgrimage – including
some famous pilgrims including Richard II who was married there. The Mont was besieged unsuccessfully by the
English in 1424.
The monastery was closed as a result of the French
Revolution and was used as a prison.
Many years later it was restored – thank goodness!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your comments are most welcome. I have currently disabled anonymous comments due to unwanted spam. Cheers