Formation
In prehistoric times the bay was land. As sea levels rose,
erosion shaped the coastal landscape over millions of years. Several blocks of
granite or
granulite emerged in the bay, having resisted the wear and tear of the ocean better than the surrounding rocks. These included
Lillemer, the Mont-Dol,
Tombelaine (the island just to the north), and Mont Tombe, later called Mont-Saint-Michel.
[edit] Tidal island
Mont Saint-Michel was previously connected to the mainland via a thin natural
land bridge, which before modernization was covered at high
tide and revealed at low tide. This connection has been compromised by several developments. Over the centuries, the coastal flats have been
polderised to create pasture. Thus the distance between the shore and the south coast of Mont-Saint-Michel has decreased. The
Couesnon River has been
canalised, reducing the flow of water and thereby encouraging a
silting-up of the bay. In 1879, the land bridge was fortified into a true
causeway. This prevented the tide from scouring the silt around the mount.
On 16 June 2006, the French prime minister and regional authorities announced a
€164 million project (
Projet Mont-Saint-Michel[1]) to build a
hydraulic dam using the waters of the river
Couesnon and of tides to help remove the accumulated silt deposited by the rising tides, and to make Mont-Saint-Michel an island again. It was projected to be completed by 2012.
[2]
The construction of the dam began in 2009 and is now complete. The project also included the destruction of the
causeway that had been built on top of the small land bridge and enlarged to join the island to the continent, and was used also as a parking lot for visitors. It will be replaced by an elevated light bridge, under which the waters will flow more freely, and that will improve the efficiency of the now operational dam, and the construction of another parking lot on the mainland. Visitors will use small shuttles to cross the future bridge which will still be open to pedestrians and unmotorized cycles.
[edit] History
Mont-Saint-Michel was used in the
sixth and
seventh centuries as an
Armorican stronghold of
Romano-Breton culture and power, until it was ransacked by the
Franks, thus ending the trans-
channel culture that had stood since the departure of the
Romans in AD 460.
Before the construction of the first monastic establishment in the
8th century, the island was called "monte tombe". According to legend,
the Archangel Michael appeared to
St. Aubert,
bishop of Avranches, in 708 and instructed him to build a church on the rocky islet. Aubert repeatedly ignored the angel's instruction, until Michael burned a hole in the bishop's skull with his finger.
[3]
The mount gained strategic significance in 933 when William "Long Sword",
William I, Duke of Normandy, annexed the
Cotentin Peninsula, definitively placing the mount in
Normandy. It is depicted in the
Bayeux Tapestry which commemorates the 1066
Norman conquest of
England.
Harold, Earl of Wessex is pictured on the tapestry rescuing two Norman knights from the
quicksand in the tidal flats during a battle with
Conan II, Duke of Brittany. Norman Ducal patronage financed the spectacular
Norman architecture of the abbey in subsequent centuries.
In 1067, the monastery of Mont-Saint-Michel gave its support to duke
William of Normandy in his claim to the throne of England. It was rewarded with properties and grounds on the English side of the Channel, including a small island located to the west of
Cornwall, which was modeled after the Mount, and became a
Norman priory named
St Michael's Mount of Penzance.
During the
Hundred Years' War, the
English made repeated assaults on the island, but were unable to seize it due to the abbey's improved fortifications.
Les Michelettes – two wrought-iron
bombards left by the English in their failed 1423–24 siege of Mont-Saint-Michel – are still displayed near the outer defense wall.
When
Louis XI of France founded the
Order of Saint Michael in 1496, he intended that the abbey church of Mont Saint-Michel be the chapel for the Order, but because of its great distance from Paris, his intention could never be realized.
Le Mont St. Michel,
map with bilingual, Latin and French, historical description, engraved late XVIII century or early XIX century. Typographical characters suggest XVIII century.
The wealth and influence of the abbey extended to many daughter foundations, including
St Michael's Mount in Cornwall. However, its popularity and prestige as a centre of
pilgrimage waned with the
Reformation, and by the time of the
French Revolution there were scarcely any monks in residence. The abbey was closed and converted into a
prison, initially to hold clerical opponents of the republican régime. High-profile political prisoners followed, but by 1836, influential figures – including
Victor Hugo – had launched a campaign to restore what was seen as a national architectural treasure. The prison was finally closed in 1863, and the mount was declared a historic monument in 1874. The Mont-Saint-Michel and its bay were added to the
UNESCO list of
World Heritage Sites in 1979, and it was listed with criteria such as cultural, historical, and architectural significance, as well as human-created and natural beauty.
[4]
And this lovely post from Eva :)
And this lovely post from Eva :)
