The Mont Saint-Michel monastery sits on an island, at the mercy of some of the highest tides in the world. But it was not always this way. The piece of land was originally connected to the Normandy-Brittany coast in France by a stretch of forest, and it was inhabited by Celtic Druids.
But in 709, a tidal wave flooded and isolated the point from the mainland, explains National Geographic. Legend has it that the archangel Saint Michael began appearing to a nearby bishop, St. Aubert, telling him that a church must be built on top of the island. During the archangel’s final visit, he put his flaming finger on St. Aubert’s head. You can find the bishop’s skull, with a hole burned right through the bone, sitting at the nearby Cathedral of Avranches today. A supertide comes to the island about every eighteen years, Nat Geo writes. Now, the monastery is known for its monastic manuscripts and 1,300-year-old abbey.
Check out the video below to see the beautiful building and island.
Thanks for reading InsideHook. Sign up for our daily newsletter and be in the know.
