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Photos show how France's tidal island treasure of Mont-Saint-Michel has endured for 1,000 yearshttps://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/news/photos-show-how-franceaposs-tidal-island-treasure-of-mont-saint-michel-has-endured-for-1000-years/slidelist/100776015.cms2023-06-06T02:04:58+05:30

Photos show how France's tidal island treasure of Mont-Saint-Michel has endured for 1,000 years

Rebecca HarringtonJun 6, 2023, 02:04 IST

Mont-Saint-Michel is a tidal island and abbey in Normandy, France.

In the year 708, bishop Aubert said he had a vision of the archangel Michael, who told him to build a church in his honor there.

Expansions were built over the years, including an abbey in 966, fortifications in 1256, a Romanesque nave in the 11th- and 12th-centuries, and the tower and spire in the 19th century.

In the 1800s under Napoleon, it was briefly a prison before being restored in 1874.

The island has endured many wars over the centuries, and the abbey is still standing through them all.

In 2019, 135 US Army paratroopers jumped from three US Air Force special mission aircraft into fields just outside the Mont to commemorate the 75th anniversary of another jump.

In 1944, ahead of the allied invasion of Normandy during World War II, around 300 troops dropped behind enemy lines to train local resistance fighters.

At high tide, Mont-Saint-Michel can turn back into an island.

This bridge, built in 2014, lets the water flow across the estuary, turning Mont-Saint-Michel back into a real island.

The full moon and solar eclipse combined in 2015 to create a supertide that submerged the land surrounding the Mont.

The tide is usually 8.7 meters, or 28.5 feet. But the supertide measured about 14 meters, or nearly 46 feet.

Today, about 30 people live in the surrounding village full-time, and more than 2 million tourists visit each year. The village has a few hotels visitors can stay in on-site.

Sheep have been raised in the area since the 11th century. The Mont-Saint-Michel salt-meadow lamb even has French Protected Designation of Origin status.

The lambs graze on the mineral-rich coastal meadows, giving them a salty taste.

The Tour de France biked by the Mont in 2011, creating a striking contrast.

This year, Mont-Saint-Michel is celebrating its 1,000th birthday. French President Emmanuel Macron visited the site on Monday to commemorate.

The UNESCO World Heritage site is offering special programming this year to mark 1,000 years since the first stone was laid on the site.

In the last 15 years, France has spent $34 million to restore the abbey and protect it from the onslaught of tourists — and climate change — for many more years to come.

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