Mont-Saint-Michel

This article is about the town. For the monastery, see Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey. For other uses, see Mont Saint Michel (disambiguation).

Le Mont-Saint-Michel
Commune
September 2018 view from the southeast at sunrise
September 2018 view from the southeast at sunrise
Coat of arms of Le Mont-Saint-Michel
Coat of arms
Location of Le Mont-Saint-Michel
Map
Le Mont-Saint-Michel is located in France
Le Mont-Saint-Michel
Le Mont-Saint-Michel
Le Mont-Saint-Michel is located in Normandy
Le Mont-Saint-Michel
Le Mont-Saint-Michel
Coordinates: 48°38′10″N 1°30′40″W / 48.636°N 1.511°W / 48.636; -1.511
CountryFrance
RegionNormandy
DepartmentManche
ArrondissementAvranches
CantonPontorson
IntercommunalityCommunauté d'agglomération Mont-Saint-Michel-Normandie
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Jacques Bono[1]
Area
1
4.00 km2 (1.54 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
25
 • Density6.3/km2 (16/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
50353 /50116
Elevation5–80 m (16–262 ft)
Part ofMont-Saint-Michel and its Bay
CriteriaCultural: i, iii, vi
Reference80
Inscription1979 (3rd Session)
Area6,560 hectares (16,200 acres)
Buffer zone57,510 hectares (142,100 acres)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Mont-Saint-Michel[3] (French pronunciation: [lə mɔ̃ sɛ̃ miʃɛl]; Norman: Mont Saint Miché; English: Saint Michael's Mount) is a tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy, France.

The island[4] lies approximately one kilometre (one-half nautical mile) off France's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is 7 hectares (17 acres) in area. The mainland part of the commune is 393 hectares (971 acres) in area so that the total surface of the commune is 400 hectares (990 acres).[5][6] As of 2019, the island had a population of 29.[7]

The commune's position—on an island just a few hundred metres (yards) from land—made it accessible at low tide to the many pilgrims to its abbey, and defensible as the incoming tide stranded, drove off, or drowned would-be assailants. The island remained unconquered during the Hundred Years' War. A small garrison fended off a full attack by the English in 1433.[8] Louis XI recognised the benefits of its natural defence and turned it into a prison. The abbey was used regularly as a prison during the Ancien Régime.

Mont-Saint-Michel and its surrounding bay were inscribed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1979 for its unique aesthetic and importance as a Catholic site.[9] It is visited by more than three million people each year, and is the most-visited tourist attraction in France outside of Paris.[10] Over 60 buildings within the commune are protected as historical monuments.[11]

In 2023, President Macron marked 1,000 years of the abbey, and the success of the hydraulic dam project and the elevated pedestrian bridge in restoring water flow in the bay, making the mount an island again.[12]

  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ With two hyphens and the French article "Le" ahead, because it is the name of a commune, not a hill.
  4. ^ By far, the most famous part of the commune, known as the "Mont Saint-Michel" or the "Mount Saint-Michel", with only one hyphen and the name "Mont" untied because it precisely means the hill, a geologic element, in this case, an island.
  5. ^ Institut géographique national (IGN) (ed.). "Commune of Le Mont-Saint-Michel's territory (scale 1:34110), the two mainland zones (enclaves) are visible, surrounded by a yellow line : one on the west of the Couesnon River is a relatively big one (387 ha), the other one on the east of the Couesnon River is a tiny one (6 ha)". geoportail.gouv.fr. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  6. ^ "Communal limits : the three areas (two of them are on the mainland and the third one is the island itself) are each surrounded by an orange line". openstreetmap.org. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  7. ^ Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2019, INSEE
  8. ^ "Mont Saint-Michel". xenophongroup.com. Archived from the original on 19 May 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  9. ^ "Mont-Saint-Michel and its Bay". UNESCO World Heritage List. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. 13 December 2006. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
  10. ^ "Summer overtourism plagues France's historic Mont-Saint-Michel". France 24. 26 July 2023. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  11. ^ Base Mérimée: Search for heritage in the commune, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Olive2023 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).