The 8th Wonder of the World: Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey on a Solitary French Island

By MOOK Scenic Spots Home Travel Life Network Editorial Department, compiled and reported
 

Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey is located on Mont-Saint-Michel in France. This small hill is actually an island, connected to the mainland one kilometer away only by a narrow causeway, attracting visitors from all over the world every day.

Mont-Saint-Michel is a granite island that rises from the sea between Normandy and Brittany. Viewed from the mainland, it resembles a fairytale hidden realm — with azure waters, white sandy beaches, and a cone-shaped hill rising dramatically, topped with the architectural complex of Mont-Saint-Michel Church, giving the place an air of mystery. According to Celtic mythology, Mont-Saint-Michel was once a resting place for the souls of the dead and a maritime cemetery. Legend has it that Bishop Aubert of Avranches dreamed three times that the Archangel Saint Michael asked him to build a sanctuary in his name atop the rocky mount.

In 966 AD, Duke Richard I of Normandy established a Benedictine abbey here. After several phases of construction and expansion, and due to its precarious position surrounded by cliffs and the sea, Mont-Saint-Michel became an impregnable fortress. For centuries, it served as a secluded retreat for monks. However, after the monastery had long oppressed the local peasants, it was first seized by the public during the French Revolution, transforming from a sacred abbey into a prison. It wasn’t until 1874 that the French government designated it as a national monument, and in 1966, it was officially returned to the Benedictine monks.