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Sights

Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey

Construction:

History: according to tradition, during the reign of King Childebert, Archangel Michael appeared in a dream to Aubert, Bishop of Avranches, and ordered him to build a church. The site chosen was Mont Tombe, the original name of Mont-Saint-Michel. To guard the sanctuary, Aubert called upon twelve monks. The hill became a place of pilgrimage to Saint Michael. In the 10th century, Abbot Odo of Cluny referred to the site as Mont-Saint-Michel for the first time. In 965 or 966, the canons were replaced by twelve Benedictines who built a new monastery. They replaced the pre-Romanesque building with a complex of Romanesque structures, the majority of which can still be admired today in the abbey church. These buildings were extended in the 12th century, notably by Abbot Robert de Torigni. Part of the Romanesque monastery was destroyed in 1204 in a fire caused by Philip Augustus’s army. To make amends, the king funded the construction of a new building, the ‘Merveille’ (Marvel or Wonder). This Gothic structure comprises two adjoining buildings, with rooms arranged over three storeys: a charity hall to house the poor, a guest hall where distinguished pilgrims were received, and the monks’ refectory. To the west lie a storeroom, a workroom for the monks and the cloister, a masterpiece of lightness and refinement. The complex is undoubtedly one of the finest examples of 13th-century monastic architecture. From the 13th to the 16th century, the abbot’s apartments and the rooms used for administrative and judicial purposes were added to the buildings surrounding the church.

Between 1420 and 1450, the English managed to establish a foothold three kilometres north of the Mont. However, the citadel, protected by 119 knights, remained impregnable. The church’s chancel collapsed in 1421. Once peace had been restored, a new chancel was built. It is undoubtedly one of the finest examples of Flamboyant Gothic architecture. The monastery fell into decline and, by the end of the 18th century, the community numbered no more than ten monks. The Revolution drove out the Benedictines and turned the abbey into a prison. The buildings suffered as a result of this use, though it did save them from ruin. Napoleon III closed the prison in 1863. Worship was subsequently re-established in the abbey by diocesan missionaries. A massive restoration programme was carried out between 1872 and 1922 by the Historic Monuments department. The monks returned in 1965–1966 to celebrate the millennium of the Benedictines’ arrival. In 1969, a small community established a permanent religious presence in the abbey.

Characteristics: built from the 10th century onwards, the Benedictine abbey boasts a wealth of architectural features in the Carolingian, Romanesque and Flamboyant Gothic styles. The entrance to the abbey is 50.30 m above sea level. The floor of the church, cloister and refectory is at an altitude of 78.60 m, whilst the neo-Gothic spire, which serves as a pedestal for the statue of Saint Michael, is 40 m high. From the church floor to the tip of Saint Michael’s sword, the height is 78.50 m, bringing the peak of the hill to 157.10 m. Four crypts (underground chapels) situated at the cardinal points around the summit of the rock form a platform that supports the weight of the 80-metre-long abbey church. The church thus forms a gigantic staircase rising from west to east, with the nave 1.5 metres higher than the entrance and the chancel 3 metres higher than the transept, the whole structure forming a perfect square.

Attendance: the religious building alone attracts 1.5 million of the approximately 2.5 million tourists who visit the mountain each year, making the abbey one of the most visited cultural sites in France.

Listing: listed as a Historic Monument in 1862. The first French site to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979 and 1988.

Mont Saint-Michel Bay

The town and the bay were the first French sites to be listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List (1979). Mont Saint-Michel has regained its island character following the restoration of its maritime character. The bay is home to the highest tides in continental Europe, with a difference of up to 15 metres between low and high tide. The sea then rushes back to the coast ‘at the speed of a galloping horse’, as the saying goes. France’s largest expanse of salt marshes and polders is home to a rich variety of wildlife, including, amongst other species, marine mammals (25 to 35 harbour seals). Situated on the Atlantic flyway, the area is home to numerous small waders such as the Dunlin or Red Knot, the Oystercatcher, the Grey Plover, the Black-tailed and Red-tailed Godwit, the Greylag Goose, the Shelduck and the Common Eider.

Footbridge and dam

With nearly 2.5 million visitors each year, Mont-Saint-Michel is now connected to the bay by a footbridge. This new access point enhances the approach to Mont-Saint-Michel. Commissioned in 2009, the dam on the Couesnon restores the river’s full flow, enabling it to flush sediment out to sea through controlled releases, thereby helping to restore Mont-Saint-Michel’s status as an island. This dam is also a structural marvel in its own right, offering a place to rest and contemplate the ‘Marvel’.

Notre-Dame-de-Pontorson Church

Built: 12th century.

Style: Romanesque.

History and features: this Romanesque granite church comprises a chancel and a transept dating from the first half of the 12th century. The nave, dating from the last quarter of the 12th century, features a façade comprising a large, slightly pointed arch that houses the Romanesque portal and the central window immediately above it, and supports a narrow gallery lit by two mullioned windows. Two small towers, which barely protrude from the wall, stand on either side of the gable. The bell tower, situated at the crossing of the transept, is adorned at its base with an openwork balustrade. At the end of the 15th century, two chapels were added beneath the transept’s axils and, in 1502, a third on the left-hand side of the chancel.

Distinguishing feature: the tympanum of the south door is adorned with a bird pecking at a man’s skull.

Listing: listed as a Historic Monument in 1889.

Moidrey Mill

Built: 1806.

Type: windmill.

History and features: The Moidrey Mill was built in 1806 and remained in operation until the early 20th century. Converted into a hayloft, it was abandoned after the Second World War. It was restored in 2003 and brought back into operation.

Current use: operational and open to visitors.

Listing: listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the Mont Saint-Michel site.

Villa Bailleul

Construction: 1870s.

History: Villa Bailleul was built between 1870 and 1880 for the director of the Compagnie des Polders de l’Ouest, a company which owned extensive agricultural land in the Bay of Mont Saint-Michel from the mid-19th century onwards. The building takes its name from its second owner, engineer Joseph Monier (1823–1906), who was responsible for the rocaille-style reservoir. A pioneer in the use of reinforced concrete, he went bankrupt at the turn of the 1880s and 1890s and died penniless.

Features: the four-storey building is constructed of stone and brick in the Neo-Louis XIII style. The reinforced concrete cistern is of particular interest, built in the rocaille style which was popular at the time amongst wealthy landowners. The cistern rests on six pillars and is surrounded by a gallery with a hexagonal roof. Beneath the cistern, there used to be a water feature with rocaille ornamentation, but this has since disappeared.

Current status: abandoned and squatted in, the villa was ravaged by a fire in 2012. Since then, it has been purchased by a couple from Lyon and is currently being restored.

Listing status: The façades and roofs of the villa and outbuildings, the rocaille-style cistern (hydraulic system and decoration), and the boundary wall were listed as historic monuments in 2011.

Sights

Church of the Sacred Heart

Built in the 19th century.

Style: Neo-Gothic.

History: The parish of Plumelec is ancient and once boasted numerous religious buildings, including the famous women’s priory of Locmaria. Its church, dating from before the 15th century, was damaged during the Revolution and had to be rebuilt in the Neo-Gothic style in 1889. The 40-metre-high bell tower was completed in 1902.

Distinguishing feature: it houses a listed polychrome wooden statue of Our Lady of Graces.

Church of Saint Maurice

Construction: 16th century.

Features: situated in the hamlet of Saint-Aubin on the outskirts of Plumelec, it is notable for its Gothic chancel dating from 1513. The church’s corbels are amongst the finest in Morbihan, owing to the abundance and quality of the carvings.

Listing: listed as a Historic Monument in 1925.

Callac Castle

Built: 14th to 17th centuries.

Style: Renaissance.

History: In the 12th century, the Callac family built a manor house, which was burnt down during the War of the Breton Succession in 1350. It was extended in the second half of the 15th century and remodelled in the 17th century to give it its present appearance. Following a succession in 1797, the château was divided between two sisters, whose descendants left the buildings to fall into disrepair in 1947. During the Revolution, the château served as a meeting place for Chouan leaders. Georges Cadoudal, amongst others, met with his lieutenants at this refuge.

During the Second World War, Callac served as a rallying point for Free French paratroopers sent on missions.

Listing: listed as a Historic Monument in 1971.

Cadoudal Manor

Construction: 1699.

History and features: built in the 15th and 16th centuries, the main house and chapel were destroyed by fire in the 19th century. All that remains are the outbuildings erected in 1699, a gate and a well. It is sometimes erroneously claimed that Chouan general Georges Cadoudal was born at the manor house in the 18th century.

Listing: listed as a Historic Monument in 1935.

La Peupleraie Contemporary Art Museum

This unique open-air museum showcases several contemporary sculptures by French and international artists, including Robert Fachard, Momcilo Milovanovic and Klaus Shultze...