Page 176 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Europe

174  FR ANCE AND THE L OW C OUNTRIES

6 Mont-St-Michel

Shrouded by mist, the silhouette of Mont-St-Michel is one
of the most enchanting sights in France. Now linked to the
mainland by a causeway, the island of Mont-Tombe (Tomb on
the Hill) stands at the mouth of the Couesnon River, crowned
by a fortified abbey that almost doubles its height. Lying
strategically on the frontier between Normandy and Brittany,
Mont-St-Michel grew from a humble 8th-century oratory
to become a Benedictine monastery that had its greatest
influence in the 12th and 13th centuries. Pilgrims known as
miquelots journeyed from afar to honor the cult of St. Michael,
and the monastery was a renowned center of medieval learning.
After the French Revolution, the abbey became a prison. It is . Abbey Church
now a national monument that draws some 850,000 visitors a Four bays of the Romanesque
nave in the abbey church survive.
year. A footbridge links the island to the mainland year-round Three were pulled down in 1776,
apart from a few hours each year when the tide is too high. creating the West Terrace.

Gautier’s Leap
Situated at the top of the
Inner Staircase, this terrace is
named after a prisoner who
leaped to his death here.

Entrance

Visiting the Abbey La Merveille is Cloisters Refectory
The abbey is built on three levels, which the name given
reflect the monastic hierarchy. The monks to the buildings
lived on the highest level (shown here), in on the north side
an enclosed world of church, cloister, and of the church.
refectory. The abbot entertained his noble
guests on the middle level. Soldiers and Abbey
pilgrims further down on the social scale Church
were received at the lowest level. Guided
tours begin at the West Terrace at the
church (highest) level and end on the
lowest level in the almonry, where alms
were distributed to the poor. West Terrace Great Inner
Gautier’s Leap Staircase

For hotels and restaurants see pp206–8 and pp209–11

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