Wilfried Devillers with AFP / Photo credit: Marc LEROUGE / ONLY FRANCE / Only France via AFP 09:44, June 05, 2023

This Monday, Emmanuel Macron will be at the abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel, to celebrate the 1,000 years of this exceptional site. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, this historic site is one of the most visited in France. From its beginnings in the 10th century to today, Europe 1 traces the history of Mont-Saint-Michel.

Before celebrating the 79th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Calvados on Tuesday, Emmanuel Macron will be this Monday afternoon at the abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel, which celebrates its 1,000th anniversary this year. An exceptional heritage and tourist site whose technical and architectural prowess never ceases to amaze us. But how did this symbolic place come about?

Mont-Saint-Michel classified as a historical monument in 1874

If the construction of the abbey was launched in 1023, the history of Mont-Saint-Michel as we know it today really began in 966. That year, Richard I replaced the monks canons who occupied the premises with Benedictines to make the rock an important place of pilgrimage. The Dukes of Normandy wanted to set up an abbey there and launched major construction sites.

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Over the following centuries, the Abbey underwent many changes: transformed into a fortress during the Hundred Years War (1337-1453), it became a prison at the end of the 18th century. When the latter closes its doors, the Abbey is in a deplorable state.

Classified as a historical monument in 1874, major renovation work was carried out before it opened to the public. Mont-Saint-Michel has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. It is also a great tourist place with its souvenir shops, restaurants, hotels ... In 2022, it attracted nearly 2.8 million visitors. Some 36,000 for the day of August 18 alone... on an area of less than 4 km2.