Wilfried Devillers with AFP / Photo credit: Marc LEROUGE / ONLY FRANCE / Only France via AFP
This Monday, Emmanuel Macron will be at the abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel, to celebrate the 1,000 years of this exceptional site. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, this historic site is one of the most visited in France. From its beginnings in the 10th century until today, Europe 1 retraces the history of Mont-Saint-Michel.
Before celebrating the 79th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Calvados on Tuesday, Emmanuel Macron will be this Monday afternoon at the Mont-Saint-Michel abbey, which is celebrating its 1,000th anniversary this year. An exceptional heritage and tourist site whose technical and architectural prowess never ceases to amaze us. But how was this symbolic place born?
Mont-Saint-Michel classified as a historic monument in 1874
If the construction of the abbey was launched in 1023, the history of the Mont-Saint-Michel as we know it today really started in 966. That year, Richard Iᵉʳ replaced the canon monks who occupied the place with Benedictines to make the rock an important place of pilgrimage. The Dukes of Normandy want to build an abbey there and launch major construction sites.
Over the following centuries, the Abbey underwent many changes: transformed into a fortress during the Hundred Years War (1337-1453), it became a prison at the end of the 18th century. When the latter closed its doors, the Abbey was in a deplorable state.
Listed as a historic monument in 1874, major renovations were carried out before it opened to the public. Mont-Saint-Michel has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. It is also a major tourist destination with its souvenir shops, restaurants, hotels… In 2022, it attracted nearly 2, 8 million visitors. Some 36,000 for the single day of August 18… over an area of less than 4 km2.
2023-06-05 07:50:14
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