Beautiful story about Mont Sea Michel. Mont-Saint-Michel, France

On the border of two French counties, Brittany and Normandy, in the middle of the Kyusnon River there is an island castle with huge rocky shores, towering over a water stroy by 80 meters.

It is called, which is translated into Russian from French as mount St. Michael..

Legend of the island castle

The legend states that the construction of Mont-Saint-Michel, who was in the Middle Ages by Abbey, began the Ober, French Archbishop, after in 709 he was his own person of Archangel Mikhail in a dream. The winged guest said that the fortress on the rock should be built, which rises above the sea.

Double Ober did not listen to Angela, and Mont-Saint-Michel would not be built if the patience of the Archangel did not end. During the third visit, the Heavenly Vestnik decided to reinforce his words by clicking on his forehead, during which the angel sword burned the risk of a clergyman. Such an argument of the Ober has considered quite significant to overpow his laziness and fulfill the request of Mikhail.

Pyramid in the ocean

Mont-Saint-Michel was built by Normanians, the contemporaries of Wilhelm's conqueror. The kings of the whole of Europe in search of paradise on earth committed a pilgrimage. During the century of war, the great castle did not surrender to the English conquerors for 30 years of siege.

Twice a year, in the days of autumn equinox and spring, the water of the Küsnon River rises to the level of the castle walls. The tide goes extremely fast, so that careless tourists have a chance not to have time to reach the fortress. Water turns the castle to the island connected to the continent of the dam.

Visiting this magic place Victor Hugo, Master Feather and the Father of the Cathedral of the Paris Mother of God, found on the island of the architectural complex "Miracle" the most beautiful in Europe, and Mont-Saint-Michel himself dubbed the pyramid in the ocean.

Visiting Monastery Mont-Saint-Michel

For several tens of centuries, people go to this place on the road, called the "Path of Paradise". They are not just like that, but to ask for help and consolation of Archangel Mikhail.

If you are traveling by tourist in Paris, then your tour operator can arrange you a trip-excursion to Mont-Saint-Michel Island, but only for one day.

It's much better to go there on your own to wander through the medieval streets of this island-castle, open different hidden corners and represent how the story comes to life in your eyes ...

You will have to stay at the hotel with three star comfort level, as there is no choice - the hotel in the castle is only one. And this hotel is also involved in history - because it was built in the sixteenth century.

Currently, Mont-Saint-Michel attend crowds of tourists, in its popularity he is clearly eclipsed and Versailles, and even Paris. Lie joke - more than three million people annually!

Not so long ago, there were restoration work on this island, and the top of the tower is decorated with a gold-plated statue of Archangel Mikhail, the works of the famous sculptor Farrier.

Mont-Saint-Michel Castle - tourist attraction

In the history of the castle, Mont-Saint-Michel were troubled times - at first he was a monastery, which was closed in a thousand seven hundred and ninety year, and instead of the monastery turned him into a state prison for the most dangerous criminals and recidivists.

And as many as fifty years, the castle was not the place of pilgrimage for people, but, as it was called, "provincial bastile".

But, fortunately, the authorities were drawn, Mon-Saint-Michel was restored, it was overhauled in it, after which the tourists were able to visit this beautiful place again. But it happened only in a thousand eight hundred and sixty-third year.

Tourists will be interested to see the abbey, the gothic complex of buildings "Miracle", the Grand staircase, which are located in the city of Mont-Saint-Michel, Grand Ryu alley.

To get to the inner part of the island, which, by the way, consists of just one street - Rue Grande, you need to Mille the Royal Gate.

After passing through them, you will see small, charming houses, standing close to each other on both sides of the street.

Previously, in the fifteenth-sixteenth centuries, these houses were residential, now you can find souvenir shops, shops or cafes.

The most famous miracle of abbey is a "monastic courtyard", which hangs between the earth and the sky.

It contains six premises, as well as a passage to the former refectory, which today is used as a place for holding different meetings, symposia or banquets.

Participants of these celebrations can taste the monastic cider.

Stone buildings are taiting in themselves the age-old cold. Yes, and drafts make their work, so, going to the island of Mon-Saint-Michel, you need to take warm clothes with you. It will be useful, especially those who wanted to walk outside the castle, for example, bypass it around.

Because of the proximity of the sea outside the strong wind, so it will freeze very easily, despite the fact that you need to go through only one kilometer to get around the castle.

It is allowed to go to such a walk only during the low tide when you can go in the sand, and only not alone. The soil island is such that empties are present in it, and if the leg will be stuck there, it will be impossible to find it yourself.

You will need to be sure to know the schedule of tides and sings, if you are planning walking around the island. After all, water during the tide can rise to fifteen meters!

The schedule written in various languages \u200b\u200bis on the scoreboard at the entrance to the city.

An interesting fact - if it seems to you that you have already seen the Mont-Saint-Michel castle somewhere, then you will be right - it was he who served as a model for the fortress of Minas Tyrit, from the film "The Lord of the Rings. Return of the King".

Tourists access to the island itself is free, however, parking nearby everywhere paid. Also paid is the entrance to adult abbey, for children - free. Well, also, paid are organized tours with a guide.

Time to visit:

• summer period, from nine in the morning to seven in the evening;
• winter period, from half of the ninth morning to six pm.

- The famous island-fortress, located in, in the north of France, on the border with. This is one of the most visited attractions of France, and the island itself with historical buildings is included in the monument list.

The city on the rock, surrounded by the sea, has existed since 709. And now there are several dozen inhabitants on the island.

Mont Saint-Michel annually attracts thousands of tourists from around the world. In addition to the picturesque location and ancient architecture, Mont Saint-Michel is additionally interesting in strong tides and lowers.

You can admire the Saint-Michel abbeat in Christmas lights from December 14 to January 11 (from 18:00 to midnight). And you can eat in one of.

Weather in Mont Saint-Michel:

Get to Mont Saint-Michel:

It is better and cheaper to get to Mont Saint-Michel by car, although get ready for high parking prices and checkout (from parking to the rocks still get on the bus, albeit free). By train from Paris, you can get through Pontorson, where to continue the bus tour from the station.

But again the abbey came with time in decline and in 1791 the monastery was abandoned, and the island turned into prison with the ironic name "Mount of Freedom" (Mont Libre), where political prisoners were kept. In 1863, the buildings were located in the buildings for the manufacture of straw hats. 11 years later, the island proclaimed a historical monument. In 1966, monks returned here, and in 1979 the whole island, together with the abbey and the bay, was introduced in.

Saint-Michel city

Below, at the foot of the cliff, on both sides of the only road to the abbey - Grand Rue - It is located a small town, dating from the first half of the 13th century. About 30 people even constantly live here. In addition to working in the field of tourist service, they are also engaged in rural works: after work on the presence of surrounding land, they are engaged in breeding sheep, and local animals are famous for especially tasty meat, which is associated with their nutrition on saline meadows.

Below, among the residential buildings there is a parish church of St. Peter, the walls of which there is a different cemetery.

Strengthening Saint-Michel

Already initial strengthening around the Island of Saint-Michel allowed to withstand the siege of 1091. In the 14th century, it was decided to build new, more serious fortress walls: in 1311, a wall and fortext attached the foot of the mountain was built. With the construction of a large tank for storing fresh water, it was already possible to withstand a long siege. So in 1425, even blowing part of the fortifications of Saint-Michel, the precipitated so and could not capture the fortress.

During the age of century war (1337 - 1453), the garrison of the fortress consisted of 119 knights, at the same time the first bastions were built. In 1434, the British were unsuccessful to capture Mont Saint-Michel, using artillery. The bombards remained from them now before the second city gates. Having left the unavailant fortress during the century of war, the mountain became the symbolic site of the National Conduction.

Strengthening Mont Saint-Michel consists of two rings: the external ring protects the city, the inner, located at the foot of the abbey, is guarded by the monastery itself.

Mont Saint-Michel Abbey

The Saint-Michel Abbey is a unique monument of architecture: the plan for his construction can not be compared with any other monastery. Given the pyramidal shape of the mountain, the medieval masters "wrapped" the granite rock buildings. The monastery church, located at the very top, is on the crypts forming the platform that reduces the severity of the church with a length of 80 meters.

Miracle Construction, Frequently mentioned as the main decoration of the entire architectural ensemble of the Mont Saint-Michel architectural ensemble, is the embodiment of the architectural perfection of the builders of the 13th century, which was able to make that two three-storey buildings corps are held on the slope of the cliff. It was possible to implement this only with the help of accurate calculations. The narrow chapel (the side of the nefa of the building) attached to the warehouse of wine on the first floor, performs the role of counterphorts (supports). Next follows superimposed supports of the first two levels of the building from the west side. Closer to the top of the rock, the design is becoming more lighter. From the outside, the building is supported by powerful counterphorts.

The harsh rules of the monastic life also influenced the location and architecture of buildings. Charter of St. Benedict, according to which the monks of the Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel lived, prescribed them on their day prayer and work. Rooms were planned taking into account these types of activity and in compliance with the principle of monastic solitude, i.e. With space allotted for monks. As a result, the room for receiving the laity was equipped on the first and second floors of wonderful structures.

The cult of sv. Mikhaila

Saint Mikhail, the commander of the Heavenly Hold, in the Middle Ages played an important role in Christianity. He appears in the Apocalypse (the book of the New Testament): Fight and defeats the dragon, which symbolizes the demon. For a medieval person who lived in anticipation and fear of the karas of the Most High, Archangel Mikhail is the saint, accompanied by the souls of the deceased, weighing them on the scales on the day of a terrible court.

Starting from the 4th century, the cult of sv. Mikhail spread widely in the east, appeared in the West at the end of the 5th century, when in 492 in Monte Gargano (in Italy) the first temple was built in his honor. By the thousandth year throughout Europe, the number of churches dedicated to this Archangel has greatly increased. Often they were built on top of hills or spurs.

At the end of the century war, reverence St. Mikhail took a special scope, which in a large extent contributed to the heroic resistance of the abbey of Mont Saint-Michel. The second wave of popularity of the Cults of St. Mikhail has come during the counter-reformation: in the eyes of the church, only the militant angel could ensure the struggle against the Protestant heresy.

In the Christian iconography of St. Michael is often depicted with a sword and weights. He began to be considered patrons of knights and all guilds associated with weapons and weights.

The statue soaring over the bell tower of the abbey of Mont Saint-Michel, embodies all traditional attributes, inherent in Archangel Mikhail. It was performed in 1897 by the sculptor Emmanuel Farm on the request of the architect Victor Pötigran, who wished to fen her new 32-meter spire. In 1987, the statue of St. Mikhail was renovated.

Tour on the Abbey Mont Saint-Michel

Lower level

Passing through Maulic Hall (1)which is a fortified entrance to the abbey of Mont Saint-Michel, visitors to the stairs Grand Degra (2) Rise to the terrace of CO-Gautier. Then the route goes between the church, on the right side, and the monastic housing on the left side. They are interconnected by suspension transitions. Monastery housing built in the period of the 14th - 16th centuries, served as a residence of abbits.

Upper level

Western Terrace (3) It consists of the Parity of the Abbot Church and the three first spans of the nef, destroyed after the fire of the 13th century. The classic facade was rebuilt in 1780. The terrace opens a general view of Saint-Michel Bay: from the Rock Kankal ("Oyster"), which is located in the West, B, and to the cloudy coast in the east, c. From here you can see two huge granite blocks: Mon-Dol on the mainland in the south-west and island Tombölen in the north. In the open sea you can distinguish the archipelago of the islands of the show, from where the granite has been supplied for the construction of the abbey of Mont Saint-Michel.

The terrace also offers a great view of the non-neutic spire of the bell tower, erected in 1897. The spire crowns the gilded statue of St. Mikhail.

Abbot Church (4), built in the first decades of the thousandth year, was erected on the top of the cliff, at an altitude of 80 m above sea level, on a platform with a length of 80 meters. Mal Church consists of three levels: arcade, galleries and high windows. The carrying structure of the neopa is closed by a tree-covered arch. The closer made in the Romanesque style and collapsed in 1421, after a century of war, was rebuilt, but already in the style of the flaming Gothic.

Then you will pass in internal Monastery Gallery (5). She joined various monastery rooms, and also used for prayers and meditation. During church holidays, religious processions took place. The gallery is located in the upper part of the building built at the beginning of the 13th century, which is called a wonder-building. By the gallery you can go to the monastery refectory, in the kitchen in the church, in Dortaur (shared bedroom), in the archive of the charter. The central doorway, which opens the view of the sea from the west side, was supposed to serve the entrance in a never built by the Kapitula hall.

To facilitate their own weight, all monastic galleries were made of wooden log cabins. A double row of small, slightly displaced columns, pursues an indispensable perspective.

IN refectory (6) The monks took food with full silence, and at this time from the department located at the southern wall, one of them read the stenovation instructions. In the side walls of the hall, narrow windows are preserved, invisible from the entrance.

Average level

From here you get into crypt of large columns (8). Crypt was erected in the middle of the 15th century to support the Gothic Grirage of the Monastery Church.

Then the route goes to crypt Saint-Martin (9)erected after a thousandth year. Crypt serves as the foundation for the southern wing of the church. Crypt is made in the form of a huge arch with a span of 9 meters.

From here on a small passage you can get to the huge wheel that the former occupies monastic Osyaria (10) (The hall where the dice of dead people extracted from the graves are stored). The wheel was established in about 1820: with its help they raised food for prisoners in Saint-Michel prisoners. The current wheel is a copy made according to the sample of similar wheels of the Middle Ages.

Saint-Etienne Chapel (11) It is located between the place of healing, which collapsed in the early 19th century, and monastic oxuarium. She served as a chapel for the deceased.

From the south side staircase (12) You can climb to the north side. The staircase is located under the western terrace and was a very busy place. She comes out in corn Gallery for Walking (13)made in the form of a long room with double nem. His architects invented an innovation: the architects of the hall rest on the arrow intersections - gothic art was born.

Then you again find yourself in a wonderful construction: Knight's Hall (14). It was built to support the inner monastery gallery and served to work and study monks. Their creations came to this day: Mont-Michel's abbey manuscripts are now stored in the city of Avranus.

Visit ends in laded (15)located at the first level under the guest room. It was in this place that the monks took the poor and pilgrims of all classes.

You can find analogs - but Mont-Saint-Michel is absolutely unique. There are simply no rivals in the world in the middle of an ideally flat plain; grief crowned with a harsh monastery and surrounded by impregnable walls; Mount, whose slopes shelted a whole medieval city with tiny winding streets; Mountain, which is the highest in Europe tides twice a day turn into an impregnable island, and the surrounding plain is in the raging ocean. The path to it is not easy, but from year to year millions of people rushing here - so that at least a few hours to feel involvement in a genuine miracle.

UNESCO made Mon-Saint-Michel to the list of world heritage sites, the guidebooks are proudly referred to him by the "eighth miracle of the world", and the French themselves call their beloved attraction just a mountain.

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How to get to Mon-Saint-Michel

The easiest and economical way to get to Mont-Saint-Michel is to take a direct bus from Paris. On Saturdays and Sundays, Flixbus bus starts from the Quarter of Defans in the early morning and return to the capital in the late evening. The path takes about 5 hours, passengers are delivered directly to the walls of Mont-Saint-Michel. The ticket back will cost less than 50 EUR, you can book it at the office. The carrier's website. Prices on the page are shown in October 2018.

On weekdays to get to the mountain a little more complicated: you first need a network on a high-speed train TGV at the Montparnasse Station, drive to Rena, and there is a place to transfer the Keolys local network. Combined train train bus can be bought at the office. The site of the company SNCF by all Railways of France. The time on the path is comparable to the bus option, and for a ticket to one end will have to post a minimum of 50 EUR.

The third way to get to Mont-Saint-Michel from Paris can be safely attributed to exotic: at the railway station Rena need to transfer to the local train to the town of Pontorson (Pontorson), and there to use a minibus to Mont-Saint-Michel (travel time 20 minutes, the cost of the ticket is 2.50 EUR). For those who are going to Mont-Saint-Michel from Normandy, this method is quite acceptable: several trains go to Pontorson daily.

Mont-Saint-Michel can be reached by car - the road from Paris at a paid motorway A13 takes about 4 hours and costs 15 EUR. The path through AlanSon on the free highway N10 is shorter than a mileage, but longer in time and strongly tires the driver - the road runs through many towns with narrow intersections, pedestrian transitions and frequent speed limits up to 50 km / h.

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A bit of history

In Gallo-Roman times, a dense forest was noisy than a dense forest on the site of the present bay, and the future mountain was a low hill. The first Christian hermites were chosen as a place for privacy and prayer. The locals wore devotees to food, and their remains buried in their time. Unnamed earlier the hill began to call the grave mountain. By the 7th century, the ocean was absorbed by land, and the mountain found the modern outlines, and in 709 the first monastery was founded on top. During the century, he broke up, he changed the owners several times, there was a lot of wars and Opad, one day burned down and restored on the pebble - until he was closed during the French revolution. The monks expelled their cells turned into chambers for political prisoners. The very gloomy period of Mon-Saint-Michel lasted almost 100 years, and only at the end of the 19th century prison was closed, and Mont-Saint-Michel received the status of the National Museum. In 1966, part of the monastery returned the Catholic Church, and now the Benedictine brothers are every day Mass in the chapel of Abbey.

Transport

The transport system of Mont-Saint-Michel is somewhat exotic, but very convenient and quite meets the special atmosphere of this place. 3 km from the monastery, next to the 24-hour parcourse (half an hour for free, the ticket for a day will cost the owners of the passenger cars at 11.50 EUR) is the stop of unusual buses on the electric shirt. They were designed specifically for Mont-Saint-Michel, and they do not have the usual "transition" and "tasks" - the driver's cabins are located on both sides. They overcome the way to the mountain in 12 minutes, along the way, making stops from hotels and restaurants of the town of La Saserne on the shore of the bay. Buses run from 7:30 to midnight with an interval of a few minutes, the fare is free.

For lovers of antiquity there is an alternative: the harvested pair of the Norman heavy trucks crews reach the mountain in 25 minutes. Capacity - up to 24 passengers, one end is 5 EUR.

Lovely Mont-Saint-Michel

Communication and Wi-Fi

There are no problems with mobile communications in Mont-Saint-Michel - 3G and 4G network are available at any point of the island. The situation with Wi-Fi is less iris, it is possible to detect a free access point only by chance. Guests of hotels and customers of restaurants in this sense are easier than those who came for several hours of tourists - free Wi-Fi has long been a standard in such establishments. The password to the hotel network usually writes either on the wall of the room, or on a special laminated map - it is put on the table before the entrance of guests. Finding the password to restaurant networks is not always easy - it is not accepted to post open. Sometimes he is printed at the bottom of the menu, but in most cases it will have to ask for the help of the waiter.

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Mont-Saint Michel hotels

Local hotels are clearly divided into two groups: hotels from the first are inside the urban fortifications (Intra Muros), from the second - in the town of La Caserne in the immediate vicinity of Mont-Saint-Michel. Rooms in hotels are close, not the most pleasant smells from the bottom from restaurants, it will have to get to housing on the minibus, and then on foot up the Grande Rue clogged with tourists. But - the proximity to all attractions, the ability to observe the tide from the "own" windows is worth it.

Hotels in La Caserne are designed in our time, here is a higher level of comfort at reasonable prices - with early booking a room in a hotel 2 * will cost only 55 EUR. Among the advantages of overnight stay in La Caserne - convenient parking for hotels, fascinating views of the night Mont-Saint-Michel, as well as a stormy and diverse nightlife.

What will bring

The choice of souvenirs in Mont-Saint-Michelev is huge: shops along the main street lead for each client, offering a wide range of goods for every taste and wallet - from magnets for a couple of euro to a complete set of knightly armor at the cost of the average car.

In addition to the usual tourist set, from the mountains, it is customary to take into memory elegant plates with the image of the abbey, small copies of the statue of the Archangel Mikhail, adorning the monastery spire, funny stone figures of musicians and juggler, made in medieval techniques, sailboats, figurines from the Norman porcelain, as well as souvenirs Cold weapons replicas.

From culinary products, crispy oil cookies "from Mother Polar", Cyen-Aman pies from the neighboring Brittany, as well as the local branded caramel - it is packaged and selling pieces.

Kitchen and restaurants Mont-Saint-Michel

Mont-Saint-Michel ride not for the sake of gastronomic pleasures, the exquisite expensive restaurants here would simply be broken. Local cuisine is simple, tasty and inexpensive - exactly what is needed tired travelers.

All bars, cafes, snack bars and pancakes are located exclusively on the Grande Rue - in other places of the island to seek food is useless. In these institutions used to quickly serve the turmpotok, and you can count on a short tight snack at a price of 12 to 25 EUR. Snakes and sandwiches on the removal will cost 3-4 EUR apiece.

Restaurants in Mont-Saint-Michel are a bit, they only exist during hotels and sometimes live in the rhythm of guests - they are serviced in them for a long time, but it is possible to taste the corporate dish of the mountain on the reasonable value of the lambraid Ocean salt naturally soak meat and gives him a unique taste). Dinner in such a restaurant will cost 80-120 EUR and will take several hours, but in anticipation of dishes can be observed for tides and lowers - all restaurants here have panoramic terraces overlooking the bay.

Guides in Mont-Saint-Michel

Entertainment and attractions

Mont-Saint-Michel - in itself - the landmark. The majestic city-fortress on a lone mountain, surrounded by alternately, then the ocean, the wet sandy plain, invariably produces a strongest impression on the travelers.

By the way, it was the monastery of Mont-Saint-Michel who became a prototype of Minas Tyrit fortress in the film "The Lord of the Rings".

Access to Mont-Saint-Michel himself is free, and any tourist can enter the city through the royal gate, passing the gun of the time of century war, lay down the two-meter width of the local "Big Street" (Grande Rue) and choose souvenirs. If a complex is allowed, you can risk and climb to the upper tier on the curves of the alleys - in some places you will have to be sidewood. Upstairs, passing the gate of the abbey and passing along the walls, one can thoughtfully choose the "observation post" and meet a tide with a camera in his hands. On the way back it is worth looking into the tiny city church and complete the tour of the walk through the fortress walls of the lower tier, returning to the royal gate. If the strength and time remain, you can pass along the granite blocks along the island to a small Saint-Ober chapel - before it served as a place of prayer-seekers.

For the entrance to the abbey (of. Site in English) an adult tourist will have to give 10 EUR, children are allowed for free.

"House of Connyabl", "Archeoscope", historical and marine museums are somewhat lost against the background of other attractions, but also interesting in their own way. Combined ticket to the visit of all 4 will cost 18 EUR, additional information can be obtained at the office. Site (in English).

5 Things to do in Mont-Saint-Michel

1. Go under the arms of the abbey of abbey and go down to His heart - the NOTRE-DAME-SOUS-TERRE chapel.
2. Meet the tide, standing at the stone parapet of the upper fortifications.
3. In the rubbing to go on the crude sand of the bay and consider the mountain from all sides.
4. Purchasing souvenirs in the shops on the Grande Rue.
5. Tries to the famous omelet "From Mother Polar"

Weather

The climate in the north of France is soft. In general, it is possible to focus on the weather forecast for Normandy, but it is worth considering some of the bay features: the ocean flashed the surface to kilometers around the mountain, so the Western wind walks around Mont-Saint-Michel as he wants - it is especially felt on the upper viewing sites. The tides are constantly wetting the surrounding sand, so in the winter there is high risk of fogs, and in summer, high humidity in combination with the scorching sun brings many tourists to faint.

The ocean not only affects the mountain microclimate - the life of a tourist depends on it. The tide comes suddenly and drives water at the speed of a running person, so before walking it is necessary to study the schedule of tides on the office. Site (in English).

Abbey Mont-Saint-Michel is an architectural miracle of France. This object is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. A unique monument of nature and architecture is a city built on a rock, which is located in a small bay. During the tides, the Mon-Saint-Michel Abbey is cut off from the Big Earth.

Ancient architecture has been preserved on the island, despite numerous siege, which he had a chance to survive for 1500 years of its existence. Chapels and fortress walls are of great interest not only with historical, but also from an engineering point of view. After all, impregnable cliffs in the Middle Ages were almost always cut off from sushi with high marine waves, so the ancient builders had to overcome the nature itself and show the wonders of ingenuity to build this unique complex.

Opinion expert

Knyazeva Victoria

Guide for Paris and France

Ask a question expert

Today, France considers Mont-Saint-Michel's abbey one of the main tourist facilities of the country. This is the second attendance city in the state after Paris. Its population is less than 100 people, but annually the monastery and adjacent territories visit up to 3.5 million tourists from different parts of the world.

general information

Mon-Saint-Michel Island on the map Finding simply. It is located 285 km north-west of Paris, in the province of Normandy, almost on the border with Breton. The city on the rock surrounds a small bay, against the background of which he rises more than 70 m. The bay seems to be squeezed by the mountain from 2 sides, cutting it off from a flat sushi.

Twice in the lunar day, which make up 24 hours 50 minutes, you can observe a wonderful picture, as sea water retreats, exposing the foot of the mountains and creating a natural passage to the island on the sandy bottom, and then again floats it.

However, it is not recommended to walk in these places. This is only possible when accompanied by a certified guide. Such tough rules are explained by the fact that the bay has an unstable bottom. In some places it is formed by Zybuchi sand.

In addition, the schedule of tides and tides should be carefully learned. After all, after a few hours, the water will begin to arrive to the rocks at the speed of a horse, which is galloping. The wave height can at the same time reach 14 m. In the area of \u200b\u200bthe Mont-Saint-Michel Castle, the tide is considered the most powerful throughout Europe. Therefore, it is better to observe this amazing natural phenomenon at a safe distance.

Mont-Saint-Michel - Castle with a truly rich history, whose roots go back to the beginning of the 8th century, when a small chapel appeared on the top of the granite rock. Although, if you believe legends, the island, which is tested by this shrine, has long been considered a sacred place. Here they worshiped the concerned Druid's Sun and buried the Celts, and some legends even say that Julius Caesar was buried on the island in the golden coffin.

The origin of the island is also shrouded in many legends. According to one of the legends, two cliffs were dragged into the giants. But the most realistic version of the formation of the island, where Mon-Saint-Michel Abbey is located, it claims that the coastal line in this region has significantly changed after a strong storm.

Part of the coastal meadows disappeared under water, being subsequently filled with sand, and two rocky hill turned into the islands. On the largest of them - Mont Tomb and the monastery arose, the name of which is translated as Mount St. Michael.

One of the French legends states that the thought of creating a monastery on the island's rock came to the bishop of the bunch in a dream. Archangel Mikhail won the Holy Father, so that the temple dedicated to him was created on the cliff surrounded by Sea. Ober considered sleeping nonsense, but the vision did not cease to appear to him. So I had to start the bishop to start implementing the idea pursuing him in dreams. In 966, the first Benedictine appeared in the walls of Mon-Saint-Michel monastery.

Shrine, impregnable outpost and ... prison

The construction of the abbey here was started in 1023 and after 17 years (record for those years term!) The gaze appeared a magnificent castle in the best traditions of medieval gothic.

At an altitude of 80 m, the majestic walls and impressive turrets of the ancient monastery are asked to the sky. The vertex of the spire, marking this majestic castle, is towering at an altitude of 155.5 m above sea level and decorated with the Golden figure of the archangel. On all sides, Mont-Saint-Michel surrounds sea waters, and only a 2-kilometer dam, which arose here at the end of the 19th century serves as a binding thread with the mainland of France.

During the age of century, Mont-Saint-Michel was held by the 30-year-old siege of the British, acquiring the fame of the last Optota of France, never seized by the enemies and forever remaining in the history of the impregnable citadel.

At the end of the 18th century, the monastery was closed in the walls of the castle, and his building itself turned into prison for several decades for particularly dangerous criminals, for which he acquired the name of the "provincial Bastille". But since 1863, after the overhaul and restoration of this unique architectural structure of France, the entrance to the Mont-Saint-Michel Castle became available to tourists.

Madly handsome, insanely dangerous

For centuries, the majestic Mont-Saint-Michel attracted pilgrims to him. The Holy Residents enchanted by the beauty, the travelers rushed to her walls often became victims of a cunning marine element. The bay, in which the monastery was located, has long been famous for strong tidal and tidy currents. Water retreats from the coast for 10-15 m, but during the tide it is returned back at a speed of about 4 km / h, with strong winds reaching speeds up to 30 km / h.

The bay in the bay always begins suddenly, and the opening sand showing the ghostly illusion of solid sushi is actually similar to the viscous Ilu. Therefore, numerous legends about tightened by zybuchi sands of the Bay of carts heading for the monastery, and travelers who died in suddenly overtakers of their bay waters can have a very realistic basis.

There is still the most impressive difference in the entire European coast, the difference between the level of low tide and the tide is preserved, but the sea has already strongly moved away from the shores of the island, where Mont-Saint-Michel Castle is located. Now the island is often surrounded by sands than water, and the tides reach their peak only twice a year - on the day of spring and autumn equinox. During this period, the water level rises by 10 m.

But even despite the fact that now there are no more impressive tidal tides, as in the Middle Ages, still rarely who will risky to go on the road to the walls of Mont-Saint-Michel through the sands. Yes, and there is no special need for this now, because there is even a rather thin strip of sushi, connecting the castle on the island with the mainland, available for transportation.

The same bay around Mont-Saint-Michel represents a unique nature reserve, in which up to 10 thousand mussels are grown for the year, and the same huge number of Norman sheep is added on the coastal meadows.

Architectural masterpiece for century

Mon-Saint-Michel's most beautiful castles of the world inheritantly entering the top ten most beautiful castles of the world are considered a real "eighth miracle of the world." Therefore, it is not surprising that the inhabitants of the two historical regions of France - Brittany and Normandy, on the border of which there is an island with a castle, did not stop the disputes on the right to receive an impressive attractions to their territories for a long time.

Everyone wants to be the most involved in such an excellent architectural masterpiece. Nevertheless, the winniest was still Normandy, since the Cuenon River flowing here clearly determines the conditional boundaries of two historical areas. On this occasion, the inhabitants of Brittany are sad joking that the river went crazy, giving such a beautiful castle of Normandy.

The famous writer Viktor Hugo was so impressed with the type of castle, which called him a "pyramid in the ocean". The modern visitors of the outline of the castle may seem very familiar and not by chance, since it was this architectural landmark of France that served as the castle of the castle from the "Lord of the Rings".

Many centuries Mont-Saint-Michel retains the fame of one of the most vibrant architectural pearls of France, leaving only Paris attractions in popularity and being the most visited by the old castle of this country after Versailles. So, it is best to visit this attraction in spring or autumn, because in the summer there is almost not to push back among the many crowds of tourists.

The castle tour includes a visit to the CO-Gautier terrace, which offers an impressive view of the surroundings, and the current temple - the church of the abbey. The most interesting visit to the top tier of the castle, called La Mervel (i.e. Miracle), where you can admire various religious relics. In the small houses of Abbey, built back in 16-17 centuries around the castle, now there are cafes, restaurants and souvenir shops.