{"id":5729,"date":"2015-12-08T17:45:02","date_gmt":"2015-12-09T01:45:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/russbishop.com\/blog\/?p=5729"},"modified":"2018-03-08T14:26:33","modified_gmt":"2018-03-08T22:26:33","slug":"mont-saint-michel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/russbishop.com\/blog\/mont-saint-michel\/","title":{"rendered":"Mont Saint-Michel"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Mont<\/a>
Mont Saint-Michel illuminated at night, Normandy, France<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mont Saint-Michel is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and one of France’s most recognizable landmarks. Known as the “Wonder of the Western World”, this island fortress was built in ancient\u00a0times and since the 8th century has been the seat of the monastery for which it is named.<\/p>\n

Perched on a rocky islet at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches, the island is just 600 meters from shore. This unique location made it accessible at low tide to the many pilgrims to its abbey, but also provided an excellent defense against invasion.\u00a0Through the ages, the Mont remained unconquered even during the\u00a0Hundred Years’ War.<\/p>\n

During the French Revolution the abbey was closed and converted into a prison,\u00a0but influential figures including Victor Hugo launched a campaign to restore this national architectural treasure to its former glory. The prison was finally closed in 1863, and the mount was declared a national historic monument in 1874.<\/p>\n

Throughout the centuries, the abbey became a renowned centre of learning and attracted some of the greatest minds in Europe.\u00a0Today Mont Saint-Michel has a population of just 44 permanent residents, but is visited by over 3 million tourists each year.<\/p>\n

The winding cobblestone streets and fascinating\u00a0architecture of this medieval town still lead to the Gothic-style Benedictine abbey dedicated to the archangel St Michael at <\/span>the islands<\/span>\u00a0apex, But the pilgrims now\u00a0come to enjoy the fine dining and spectacular views of the surrounding countryside, and ponder the rich history within these walls.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9Russ Bishop\/All Rights Reserved<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mont Saint-Michel is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and one of France’s most recognizable landmarks. Known as the “Wonder of the Western World”, this island fortress was built in ancient\u00a0times and since the 8th century has been the seat of the monastery for which it is named. Perched on a rocky islet at the mouth … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Mont Saint-Michel”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wpmdr_menu":1,"wpmdr_menu_extended":{"individualPostRemove":1,"individualPostRemoveDate":1,"individualPostRemoveAuthor":1,"individualPostYoastRemovePublished":1,"individualPostYoastRemoveModified":1},"footnotes":""},"categories":[296,61,20],"tags":[268,269,270,61,621,341],"class_list":["post-5729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cultural","category-history","category-travel","tag-architecture","tag-europe","tag-france","tag-history","tag-mont-saint-michel","tag-unesco-world-heritage-site"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t