The church was built originally in 709 by the bishop after a vision from the Archangel Michel to built on an outcrop of granite. Another church was added in the 900s and three the abbey in the 11th century, more buildings added to the monastery in the 12th century. Over the next few centuries the more gothic architecture and the ramparts were added for military protection. It was a prison during the French Revolution and then restored in the 1800s. Today it is still a working religious community. More than 3 million people a year visit here and it has its own mayor and full time residents.
The river that feeds into the bay where the abbey sits is the border of the Normany and Bretagne regions, with the abbey on the Normandy side. Over time the silt has built up and reduced its island nature; they are now working to remove the main road and replace it with a piered-style roadway that will allow the bay to fill back in and revert back to its original form.
Inside the abbey Greya said it could be used to film Harry Potter. Blaine found a neat bee hive candle that was being burned in place of wax. After the tour the kids scattered for lunch and shopping. I spotted more crepes, baguette sandwixhes, hot dogs and fries, croque monsoeirs and waffles. They are definitely eating!
Now we are back on the bus for about 45 minutes to the hotel in St Malo, the into town for a scavenger hunt organized by Froggy and maybe some soccer on the beach!
No comments:
Post a Comment