The Normandy region of France includes the tidal island and mainland municipality of Mont-Saint-Michel. The island is 7 hectares in size and is located at the mouth of the Couesnon River close to Avranches, about one kilometre off the northwestern coast of the nation. The mainland portion of the commune spans 393 hectares. There were 29 people living on the island as of 2019. The commune was situated on an island just a few hundred metres from the mainland, making it accessible at low tide to the numerous pilgrims who visited its abbey but defendable as an incoming tide left potential attackers stranded, drove them away, or drowned them. The island escaped capture during the Hundred Years War after a tiny garrison successfully repelled an English full-scale invasion in 1433. Louis XI converted it to a jail after seeing the negative effects of its natural defence. Throughout the Ancien Régime, the abbey was frequently used as a jail. Because of its distinctive appeal, UNESCO added Mont-Saint-Michel and its surrounding harbour to its list of World Heritage Sites in 1979. Each year, more than 3 million individuals go there. The commune is home to more than 60 structures that are designated as historical sites in France. The trans-channel culture that had persisted since the Romans left in 460 A.D. was put to an end to when the Franks raided Mont-Saint-Michel in the sixth and seventh centuries, serving as an Armorican stronghold of Gallo-Roman culture and authority [Without Citation]. Mont-Saint-Michel belonged to the realm of Neustria from around the 5th to the 8th centuries, and was a significant location in the Neustrian marches in the early 9th century [Without Citation]. In the Treaty of Compiègne, the king of the Franks consented to give the Bretons the Cotentin peninsula and the Avranchin, including Mont-Saint-Michel, which is customarily connected to the city of Avranches, as he was unable to protect his country against Viking attacks. A brief era of Breton control over the Mont began at this point. In 933 A.D., William I Longsword acquired the Cotentin Peninsula from the struggling Duchy of Brittany, giving the hill new critical implications. The Bayeux Tapestry, which honours the 1066 Norman invasion of England, depicts this as making the mount unmistakably a part of Normandy. The bid for the English throne by William the Conqueror was supported by the monastery of Mont-Saint-Michel in 1067. The Kingdom of England repeatedly attacked the island during the Hundred Years War but failed to take it because of the superior defences of the abbey. But there were hardly any monks living there by the time of the French Revolution. Initially used as a prison to house ecclesiastical opponents of the republican government, the abbey was eventually closed down. It was followed by jailing of prominent political prisoners as well. However soon, a drive to repair what was seen as a national architectural gem was started in 1836 by notable people, including Victor Hugo. In 1863, the prison was ultimately shut down. German troops seized Mont-Saint-Michel when occupying France during World War II, using the St. Auburn church as a lookout position. After the initial Allied assault of D-Day, many worn-out German soldiers sought refuge in fortresses like Mont-Saint-Michel. Eventually Allied troops arrived at Mont-Saint-Michel on August 1, 1944. Mont-Saint-Michel and its bay were included to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1979. They were judged according to standards including relevance to culture, history, and architecture, as well as to the beauty of both man-made and natural structures! [Information-Credit : Mont-Saint-Michel , Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont-Saint-Michel ] [Image: Le Mont-Saint-Michel, Normandie, Frankreich; Image-Credit : Jan , Pexels; (Please Relate to Source Image-URL for More Image Usage Property and License) Image-Source-Link : https://www.pexels.com/photo/mont-saint-michel-in-france-13526276/ ] #Architecture
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Monuments and Architecture
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