This fortress is a man-made wonder of the world.
The rocky island of Mont Saint-Michel in Northwest France was converted into a fortress in the year 709. In the late 19th century it got the status of a historical monument, and in 1979 was entered in the list of world heritage of UNESCO.
The island fortress of Mont Saint-Michel. Unique “Pyramid in the ocean”
The fortress of the island is particularly popular among tourists from all over the world. The reasons for such fame a lot. In addition to picturesque scenery, you can see the impressive architectural and historical monuments, and unique for the whole Europe the tides.
The island has a conical shape, and its perimeter is just one kilometre away.
Before there appeared any buildings, the island was an ordinary granite rock, the height of which reached 80 meters. And granite formation are so strong that is not subject to erosion for millennia.
In 1879, the Mont Saint Michel appeared the Causeway linking the island to the mainland.
Bay of Islands is famous for its amazing tides, the strongest in Europe, the amplitude of which is second only to the Bay of Fundy.
According to one version of the origin of the ancient Mont Saint-Michel, the result of a heavy storm in the 8th century the coastline of this part of the channel much transformed. Coastal meadows and forests were flooded, and two rocky hill turned into Islands. The largest of them was later called Mont-Saint-Michel, the second, smaller, was named Tomblin.
In 11-16 centuries, the island of Mont Saint-Michel Abbey was built, which was a medieval fortified monastery. Its area was about 55 thousand square meters.
Currently, the city is home to several dozen people.
French writer Victor Hugo, in his time impressed with the city-fortress, called it “the Pyramid in the ocean”.
However, Mont Saint-Michel is often mentioned in literary works and in various feature films and music videos.
For example, this island fortress was a prototype of the capital of Gondor — the fortress of Minas Tirith — in the legendary film “Lord of the rings”.
