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It is connected to the mainland via a thin natural land bridge, which before modernization was covered at high tide, and revealed at low tide. Thus, Mont Saint Michel gained a mystical quality, being an island half the time, and being attached to land the other : a tidal island.

However the insular character of the mount has been compromised by several developments. Over the centuries, the coastal flats have been polderised to create pasture. The coast south of the mount has thus encroached on the distance between the shore and the mount. The river Couesnon has been canalised, reducing the flow of water and thereby encouraging a silting-up of the bay. In 1879, the land bridge was fortified into a true causeway. This prevented the tide from scouring the silt round the mount. Now there are plans to remove the causeway and replace it with a ferry.

Before the construction of the first monastic establishment in the 8th century, the island was called Mont Tombe. According to legend, the archangel Michael appeared to St. Aubert, bishop of Avranches, in 708Events The Japanese court moved from Heian to Nara. March 25 Constantine is consecrated Pope Births Deaths February 4 Pope Sisinnius Drogo, duke in Champagne 708. and instructed him to build a church on the rocky islet. Aubert repeatedly ignored the angel's instruction, until Michael burned a hole in the bishop's skull with his finger.

The mount gained strategic significance in 933Events Jersey was seized by William Longsword, Duke of Normandy Births Deaths Alfonso IV of Leon 933. when the NormansThis article talks about the Norman people. There is also a city named Norman, Oklahoma in the United States. The Normans (lit. Northmen") were Scandinavian invaders (especially Danish Vikings) who began to occupy the northern area of France now known as annexed the Cotentin PeninsulaThe Cotentin Peninsula juts out into the English Channel from Normandy towards England, forming part of the north-west coast of France. Geography It is part of the Armorican Massif and lies between the estuary of the River Vire and Mont Saint Michel Bay., thereby placing the mount on the new frontier with Brittany. Ducal and royal patronage financed the spectacular Norman architectureNorman architecture is: a term still applied by writers in English to the buildings erected by the Normans, in the various lands that fell under their dominion in the 10th and 11th centuries; a term applied to architecture in Normandy. In England, "Norman of the abbey in subsequent centuries.

The wealth and influence of the abbey extended to many daughter foundations, including St Michael's MountSt Michael's Mount is a lofty pyramidal tidal island, exhibiting a curious combination of slate and granite, rising 400 yards from the shore of Mount's Bay, in Cornwall, England. It is united with Marazion by a natural causeway cast up by the sea, and pas. However, its popularity and prestige as a centre of pilgrimageA pilgrimage is a journey by a religious person to a place that is sacred according to his or her religion. Pilgrimage in Hinduism There are several holy places with great significance to Hindus. Some of these (in India) include: Badrinath Kedarnath Gango waned with the ReformationThe Protestant Reformation was a movement which began in the 16th century as a series of attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church, but ended in division and the establishment of new institutions, most importantly Lutheranism, Reformed churches, and An and by the time of the French Revolution there were scarcely any monks in residence. The abbey was closed and converted into a prison, initially to hold clerical opponents of the republican régime. High-profile political prisoners followed, but by 1836 influential figures, including Victor Hugo, had launched a campaign to restore what was seen as a national architectural treasure. The prison was finally closed in 1863, and the mount was declared a historic monument in 1874.

The tides in the area shift quickly, and has been described by Victor Hugo as "à la vitesse d'un cheval au galop" or as swiftly as a galloping horse. However, this is an exaggeration, as the tide actually comes in at 1 metre per second.

The tides can vary greatly, at roughly 14 meters between high and low water marks. Popularly nicknamed St. Michael in peril of the sea by mediaeval pilgrims making their way across the tidal flats, the mount can still pose dangers for visitors who avoid the causeway and attempt the hazardous walk across the sands from the neighbouring coast. The dangers from the tides and quicksands continue to claim lives.

The mount is the object of traditional, but nowadays good-humoured, rivalry between Normans and Bretons. Bretons claim that, since the river Couesnon marks the traditional boundary between Normandy and Brittany, it is only because the river has altered its course over the centuries that has placed the mount on the Norman side of the frontier. Normans display a certain proprietorial pride in the mount - for example, the département of Manche in which the mount is situated uses its silhouette in its logo - and affect mild irritation on occasions when Brittany uses the mount in tourist publicity.

It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.