I have been thinking about this post for a while now. And not just this one post but the other nine to come. Yes, it's true, I am about to begin my first series. (I already have my second planned too!) For each post I want to write about a city, sight or whatever it may be that I know I must see. Many things have caught my eye and I would like to share them with you. I will share some information about it and why I want to see it. Now that I think about it, I don't know alot of information about the things I want to see. Well, Wikipedia might just become a good friend of mine by the end of this. There are two things I ask of you whoever is reading. That is to enjoy it of course and if any of you have been to these places and have some tips or info that you think I should know or maybe you'd even like to share about your own exciting (or not so exciting?) adventure at these places then please share, I would LOVE to hear!
So with further adue I give you Item Number One! Oh and by the way (sorry, I am sure taking my sweet time getting to the point) these are in no specific order except for this first one which is BY FAR number one on my list. Take a good look at this photo and you will know why...
Number one : MONT ST. MICHEL, France
um... can you say WOW?!
The first time I saw this beautiful work of architecture was on the back of a travel magazine a friend of mine gave me just this last year. I had to take a double take because I couldn't believe that something like this even existed in the real world. It's so fairy tale like and uh...I don't know... round? I can hardly describe it. I just know it's beautiful and I need to see it. The funny thing is, it's the second most visited place in France after the Eiffel Tower but I've never heard of it before. Have you? It is located in Northern France along the Normandy coastline and I'm going to let wikipedia do the rest of the talking...
Mont Saint-Michel (English: Saint Michael's Mount) is a rocky tidal island and a commune in Normandy, France. It is located approximately one kilometer (just over a half-mile) off the country's north coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches. The population of the island is 41.
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Mont-Saint-Michel was used in the sixth and seventh centuries as an Armorican stronghold of Romano-Breton culture and power, until it was ransacked by the Franks, thus ending the trans-channel culture that had stood since the departure of the Romans in AD 460.
Before the construction of the first monastic establishment in the 8th century, the island was called "monte tombe". According to legend, St. Michael the Archangel appeared to St. Aubert, bishop of Avranches, in 708 and instructed him to build a church on the rocky islet. Aubert repeatedly ignored the angel's instruction, until St. Michael burned a hole in the bishop's skull with his finger.[3]
The mount gained strategic significance in 933 when William "Long Sword", William I, Duke of Normandy, annexed the Cotentin Peninsula, definitively placing the mount in Normandy. It is depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry which commemorates the 1066 Norman conquest of England.
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 to the west of Cornwall, which was modeled after the Mount, and became a Norman priory named St Michael's Mount of Penzance.
During the Hundred Years' War, the English made repeated assaults on the island, but were unable to seize it due to the abbey's improved fortifications.
When Louis XI of France founded the Order of Saint Michael in 1496, he intended that the abbey church of Mont Saint-Michel be the chapel for the Order, but because of its great distance from Paris, his intention could never be realized.
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, and it was listed with criteria such as cultural, historical, and architectural significance, as well as human-created and natural beauty.[4]
Check out this link for more info and a peak inside brought to you by Rick Steeves >>> Mont St. Michel
Mmm... can't wait!
Check out this link for more info and a peak inside brought to you by Rick Steeves >>> Mont St. Michel
Mmm... can't wait!
This DOES look SOO cool!! I wanna see a pic of this in your slideshow for sure :)
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