Mont-Saint-Michel might be the most aesthetic place on earth.
It’s a cultural icon today, but at one point it served as a prison, and then was almost completely lost to history. It’s story highlights the need to vigilantly guard our cultural heritage.
Mont-Saint-Michel is what’s called a tidal island—a piece of land that’s connected to the mainland via a causeway during low tide, while at high tide waters completely surround it, making it an island.
Situated off the coast of Normandy, France, it was nothing more than a rocky outcrop until the 8th century, when, according to legend, the archangel Michael appeared to Aubert, bishop of Avranches, instructing him to build a church on the mount.
The story goes that Michael appeared to Aubert three times before the bishop believed it was a true vision. On the last visit, the angel poked Aubert on the head in exasperation, leaving a hole in his skull—Aubert’s skull with a finger-sized hole can still be seen in the abbey today.
Soon after monks settled and the construction of the Romanesque abbey church began in 1023, the mount became a pilgrimage hotspot for the Christian West—believers sought out St. Michael’s intercession for spiritual protection.
The mount would be far from a quiet retreat for pilgrims and monastics, though. The chaotic waves of war and politics crashed into its rocky foundations throughout the coming centuries…
In the 11th century, the site was at the center of the Norman-Breton war—it’s featured on the Bayeux Tapestry behind Harold Godwinson. During the Hundred Year’s War, English forces besieged it with heavy bombards but failed as the mount’s unique topography made it impenetrable.
In the time of Louis XIV, sections of the site began to be used as a jail for political prisoners. And after the French Revolution in 1793, the state nationalized the property and expelled the monks, making its sole purpose a prison.
What had once been a famous pilgrimage site was now a dreaded prison known as the “Bastille of the Seas.”
At its height, the abbey town crammed over 14,000 prisoners within its walls. Its secluded location made escape impossible. Its use as a prison over the next half century left the site in a dilapidated condition. By 1863, it closed completely.
Mont-Saint-Michel had gone from a famous pilgrimage site, to a prison, then finally to a ghost town in desperate need of repair—a sad fall from glory.
But Mont-Saint-Michel’s story wasn’t over yet.
Prominent romantic writers, artists, and cultural figures like Victor Hugo petitioned to restore the site to its former majesty. In 1872, French architect Édouard Corroyer assessed its condition and convinced his superiors to classify it as a historic monument.
A member of the Academy of Fine Arts, he devoted fifteen years to the restoration of the site, which he called la Merveille — “the Wonder.”
Under Corroyer’s direction, massive restoration and reconstruction projects were undertaken, and in 1897, the design was even improved with the addition of a gilded statue of St. Michael adorning the abbey’s neo-Gothic spire.
Over the next century Mont-Saint-Michel survived both world wars and in 1979 was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a testament to Corroyer and the restoration team’s incredible work preserving the cultural icon.
Mont-Saint-Michel is an incredible beacon highlighting the need to preserve cultural heritage.
It was almost completely abandoned after the French Revolution—proving what is precious to us now may not be to future generations if we fail to pass on the traditions we’ve been given.
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