Paris1972-Versailles2003

What about the wonder of our world , Mont Saint Michel. We have been to it several times and even with ever increasing crowds ,still a wonder of our world, a must to visit. It is something beyond description really, how it can be there! This is a marvel of our times, and so much written on it;see my several posts on it, However, found me older pictures new to the blog and feel they should be in Therefore, here is my take on the Mont Saint Michel Abbey, interiors !!!!

The Mont-Saint-Michel in the département 50 of the Manche in the region of Normandie, and in my belle France, It takes the name from the rocky isle consecrated by Saint Michel or Saint Michael where today it is the Abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel. The Abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel ,and all its dependancies such as the Chapel of or Church Notre-Dame-sous-Terre, Chapelle Saint-Aubert; and the Fontaine Saint-Aubert; the parish Church of Saint-Pierre ,which originally housed the inhabitants of the Mount.  The Mont Saint Michel Abbey was built from the 10C, the Benedictine abbey abounded in architectural wonders built in Carolingian, Roman and Flamboyant styles. The level of the first step of the entrance to the abbey is about 51 meters above the average level of the sea. Church, cloister and refectory soil is at an altitude of 79 meters while the Neogothic arrow which serves as a pedestal for the statue of Saint Michel is 40 meters in height. The height of the paving, from the church to the tip of the sword of Saint Michael, reaches about 79 meters, which means that Mont culminates at 157 meters high.

The normal visits circuit which you can go either way once in it , but normally they suggest to do on level 1, the exterior Grand Degré, staircase of 100 steps, gives access to the châtelet courtyard; Under the lowered arc of its entrance commits the stairs du Gouffre or of the abyss, leading to the Porterie or gateway and the salle des Gardes or guards room;and then chaplaincy (ticket office); On level 2 escent by the staircase of the Maurists; Salle des Hôtes or hosts’ room; Sainte-Madeleine Chapel; Crypt of big pillars; Saint-Martin chapel; ossuary with belvedere and squirrel wheel; Saint-Etienne Chapel; South-North gallery; promenoir des moines or monks’ promenade with view of the Salle d’Aquilon room and the devil’s dungeon; and salle des Chevaliers or Knight room; Going up to Level 3: the interior Grand Degré in 90 steps, leads to the salle du Saut-Gautier or jump-off room (reception, models) and to the forecourt of the church with a panoramic terrace; abbey church; cloister; and refectory;There is an staircase to level 1 in the cellier or boutique; Exit by the gardens and the north facade of the abbey.

The Church Notre-Dame-sous-Terre Choir rests on a low church, called the Crypt of the Gros-Piliers, made necessary by the difference in level between the high church and the external soil. It was originally a question of the Romanesque absidal crypt, for which a new much more massive crypt has been substituted, in the flamboyant Gothic style, never devoted to worship and made from 1446 to 1450, after the collapse of the Roman choir, in 1421, This room has ten cylindrical pillars, including eight huge, of a 5 meters circumference, without capitals, with octagonic or dodecagon bases and arranged in a half-black virgin, made in the 19C, responds to a Sacral recharging logic by reproducing at Mont a cult practice attached to the Cathedral of Chartres.

The Saint-Martin Chapel is made up of a square nave covered with a cradle vault with a range of 9 m, reinforced in its center by an arc-doubleau and finished east by an apse in cul-de oven which supports the absidiole of the transept of the high church. It is one of the rare elements of the abbey reached to us as it was during its completion around 1050, the crypt not having needed to be restored despite its various uses over the centuries: horse mill, tank.

A room known as the promenoir des moines or monk’s promenade corresponding to the plan of the previous one, with three pillars, which extends by a corridor resting directly on the rock and supported by two pillars. This corridor gives access to the Diable Cachot, a pretty vaulted room with a single pillar, then to the Chapelle des Trente Cierges or Chapel of the Thirty Cleks located at the same level and, to the north, in the Salle des Chevaliers, located below the destination of this room of promenade is uncertain: old refectory, chapter room or, an old cloister

The salle des Hôtes ro hosts’ room is a room with warheads, with two naves separated by six columns, therefore taking up the disposition of chaplaincy, placed just below. The host reception before entry into this ceremonial room took place in the adjoining Sainte-Madeleine Chapel in which the guests devoted their devotions before going to the table. The host room is clearly intended for the reception of brand hosts, who found there the luxury of the cantilevered latrines of the north facade, as well as a double and monumental fireplace, to warm them up and restore them. You also have to imagine the walls decorated with drapes, stained glass windows, paintings, enameled tiles ,dotted with lilies and towers, now missing.

The réfectoire des moines or monks’ refectory occupies the third and last level of this eastern part of the wonder. The room is delimited in a single volume by two parallel walls, the longitudinal axis vaulted as a cradle, although nothing underlines, led the gaze to the place of the abbot. In perspective, the windows overlap but as the observer progresses in the room, they open one after the other, then, behind they close, forming a sort of blind that diffuses in the set of the room an indirect, soft and homogeneous light, Sublime !!!

The official Abbey Mont Saint Michel: https://www.abbaye-mont-saint-michel.fr/en

The Mont Saint Michel Tourist Office on the abbey: https://www.ot-montsaintmichel.com/en/discover/visit-the-mont-saint-michel/

There you go folks, a wonderful site and a must to visit while in France. The Mont Saint Michel is unique and grand, words cannot describe it, you must come. Again, hope you enjoy this post on the Mont Saint Michel Abbey, interiors as I

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!