Mont St. Michel
This abbey is one of the top four pilgrimage sites in Christendom through the ages ... we were just really excited to be seeing Rapunzels Kingdom from Tangled (or where it was inspired).
For more information about the abbey and hours go here:
I kind of fell in love with this little town built around the abbey! They stuffed
so many homes on this little town, it has so much character. We walked the ramparts to get to the abbey, it gave us a pretty good perspective of the town, and you are able to avoid all the touristy shops.
so many homes on this little town, it has so much character. We walked the ramparts to get to the abbey, it gave us a pretty good perspective of the town, and you are able to avoid all the touristy shops.
The story of the abbey is this -- A.D. 708 the bishop of Avranches heard the voice of Archangel Michael saying "Build here and build high". The abbey is built on the ruins of a Romanesque church, which are in turn are on top of the ruins of a Carolingian church. St. Michael stands on top of the spire here - he is the patron saint of many French kings and a symbol for war (especially while fighting against the Protestant). Centuries of monks and pilgrims have made this abbey their home.
The Refectory, or the dining hall. They ate in silence while one monk read from the Bible.
Cloisters - I LOVE Cloisters! The Abbey Church in is the background.
The view!
Outside the abbey- The lower floors were for the lower class, the middle floors for more important individuals, and the top floors were basically reserved for the clergy. Interesting that they would have kept that in mind while building it ...
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