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A Medieval Abbey Trapped by Tides and Time

A medieval abbey emerges from the tides in Normandy, France, rising like an ancient village from a fairytale. Mont Saint-Michel is both a coastal town and an isolated island that sits on a massive granite rock, weathered by the powerful tides between Normandy and Brittany over time, and topped with an abbey of the same name.

The beautifully dramatic Gothic silhouette, with traces of Romanesque and Pre-Romanesque architecture, is quite a sight against the sky. Everything about the practically magical structure is as charming as it is filled with history.

The Benedictine abbey and its bay—one of the first monuments to be classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site back in 1979—was built between the 11th and 16th centuries, established precisely in the year 966 and dedicated to the archangel Saint Michae. Legend has it that the archangel himself paid a visit to a bishop named Aubert (now known as St. Aubert) early in the 8th century. Aubert said St. Michael demanded that a church at the peak of the rock be built. Today, the bishop’s skull can be found at the nearby Cathedral Avranches with a hole burned through the bone, allegedly caused by St. Michael’s flaming finger.

Mont Saint-Michel wasn’t always an island. In prehistoric times, it stood on dry land. According to National Geographic, the granite rock was first called “Mont Tombe.” As nature took its course and sea levels rose, erosion reshaped the coast, and by 709, it became a totally different landscape. Today, Mont Saint-Michel sits only 600 meters (656 feet) from land, with a bridge that disappears underwater when the tides roll in.

It’s definitely a tricky place to live, which is probably why there are only about 50 permanent residents, though over 3 million tourists visit Mont Saint-Michel every year. However, it isn’t all that easy for tourists either. Aside from making sure you come before the water rushes in, the climb to see the abbey itself is around 900 steps.

Aside from the grand architecture and gorgeous landscape, Mont Saint-Michel is also known as “The City of Books.” The abbey library is filled with monastic scriptures dating as far back as the 8th century. In the 12th century, “Aristotle’s writings were first translated from ancient Greek to Latin inside the abbey scriptorium,” National Geographic reports.

Today, there are other much-less-ancient attractions that have set up shop on the island. Museums, hotels, restaurants and boutiques line the steep streets of the small town for guests’ entertainment. Still, these relatively new establishments respect the centuries-old holy ground they’ve been built on.

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