France, Mont Saint-Michel Abbey

France, Mont Saint-Michel Abbey

The island-fortress of Mont Saint-Michel is located on the north-west coast of France, about 285 kilometers west of the capital, the city of Paris. This unique rocky island was inhabited at the beginning of the VIII century, at the same time the first religious buildings appeared here, made in the pre-Romanesque style and subsequently grew into a large and powerful abbey of St. Michael.

The history of the abbey of Mont Saint Michel

According to the legend, in 708 Archangel Michael himself appeared to the local bishop and commanded to build a sacral structure on this island. The first church was built a year later in the form of a grotto and was later transformed into the Church of the Underground Mother of God, preserved to this day, made in the pre-Romanesque style. It dates back to 966, but for a long time was in an abandoned state due to the frequent alterations and outbuildings of the abbey and was restored only at the beginning of the 20th century.

The construction of the central building of the monastery began in 1017, and ended only 500 years later – in 1520. During this time, the abbey survived the heyday, which came in the XII century, but also the period of decline that occurred during the Hundred Years War. Initially, the abbey was considered to be English territory, but after the war it was ceded to the French. The city itself was almost completely destroyed by the British in the years 1424-1434. The abbey resumed its religious activities a few decades later.

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After the Great French Revolution, the monastery, already in desolation, was completely abandoned. From 1791 to 1863, he functioned as a prison, where political criminals who opposed the ruling regime were kept. Moreover, a hat factory was located in one of the monastic premises. Only in 1874, the authorities remembered the monastery, proclaiming it a historical monument. The great French writer Victor Hugo, who petitioned the emperor Napoleon III to close the prison in this unique old building, played a significant role in this.

Since 1979, the abbey, like the island of Mont Saint-Michel, was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, and the Benedictine community settled here ten years earlier. Thus, the monastery was again returned to the bosom of the Catholic Church.

The main temple of the abbey

In the exterior of the main building of the monastery, several architectural styles are intertwined at once, since its construction itself was carried on for about 500 years, and was overshadowed by numerous destructions and fires. The construction of the church began in 1022 in the Romanesque style, and from that period only a lengthy nave and transept remained, relying on numerous underground chapels where religious services are held to this day. Interestingly, these crypts are preserved almost in authentic form, only the wall painting was lost. Especially it is worth paying attention to the crypt of the Great Columns, famous for its thick bearing columns supporting the nave and transept.

The choirs were completed after the Hundred Years War, and therefore performed in the more modern at that time style of “flaming Gothic”. And in the 18th century, many of the ancient details of the monastery, including parts of the nave, were destroyed due to their poor condition. Only after more than a hundred years, the full restoration of the monastery began, during which the old bell tower was completely rebuilt, later topped with its famous neo-Gothic spire. At its end was installed a gilded sculpture of the holy archangel Michael, performing the function of a lightning rod. Some neo-romanes were added to the building of the monastery, which, despite the fact that they were made much later than the original structure, was designed in the same architectural style.

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Monastic buildings

The monastery of Mont Saint-Michel is unique in that its utility rooms and cells are not located around the temple itself, but are located on different levels. At the very top is a dormitory, built back in the 11th century, simultaneously with the nave of the cathedral. In the 12th century, the monastery was also supplemented by two powerful western towers and the Great Staircase connecting the abbey itself with a small town at the foot of the mountain. There was also a ramp, through which it was easier to deliver food and goods up to the monastery.

And in 1211 began the construction of a powerful Gothic complex in the northern part of the abbey. Previous buildings were destroyed during the first siege a few years earlier. The new monastery complex was called the “Miracle” and consisted of a courtyard – a cloister, surrounded by a gallery, a knight’s hall with elegant columns, located on the lower tier, and an exquisitely decorated refectory, located at the top. The complex itself was surrounded by a powerful wall supported by buttresses.

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