File:Mont-Saint-Michel Panoramique (3840955768).jpg

Mont-Saint-Michel, Bretagne/Normandie, France, 08/2009

«Mont Saint-Michel (English: Saint Michael's Mount) is a rocky tidal island and a commune in Normandy, France (Le Mont-Saint-Michel). It is located approximately one kilometer off the country's north coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches. The population of the island is 41. (...) In 1067, the monastery of Mont-Saint-Michel gave its support to duke William of Normandy in his claim to the throne of England. It was rewarded with properties and grounds on the English side of the Channel, including a small island located at the west of Cornwall, which, modelled after the Mount, became a Norman priory named St Michael's Mount of Penzance. (...)

The wealth and influence of the abbey extended to many daughter foundations, including St Michael's Mount in Cornwall. However, its popularity and prestige as a centre of pilgrimage waned with the Reformation, and by the time of the French Revolution there were scarcely any monks in residence. The abbey was closed and converted into a prison, initially to hold clerical opponents of the republican régime. High-profile political prisoners followed, but by 1836 influential figures, including Victor Hugo, had launched a campaign to restore what was seen as a national architectural treasure. The prison was finally closed in 1863, and the mount was declared a historic monument in 1874. The Mont-Saint-Michel and its bay were added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1979, as it was listed with criteria such as cultural, historical, and architectural significance, as well as human-created and natural beauty.»