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Path: Photos > Places > Le Mont Saint Michel > Mont Saint Michel: The Abbey
Tags: France

Mont Saint Michel: The Abbey

 

(vero;2018-August-31)

The abbey is an impressive monument, clinging to the rock and buit on three levels. While its exterior reminds one of a fortress, its interior mixing roman and gothic characteristics culminates in the so-called Merveille, a masterpiece of gothic architecture. Wandering through the long corridors, huge halls and going up and down flights of steps is like being in a time warp.

Below are some pictures of the abbey and a panoramic view of the Gothic choir of the abbey church.

Gargoyles around the abbey.
The entrance to the abbey church. Capital of one the columns framing the entrance to the abbey church. A bas-relief showing the four Evangelists. From left to right: Mark and his winged lion, John and the eagle, Luke and the bull, Matthew and an angel. The altar in the abbey church. Adam and Eva expelled from the garden of Eden. Bas-relief in the ambulatory of the choir of the abbey church. Bas-relief showing the Harrowing of Hell in the ambulatory of the choir of the abbey church. The Harrowing of Hell is a doctrine in Christian theology which states that Jesus descended into Hell before being resurrected in order to visit the realm of the dead to save those who came before his earthly ministry. In this way, the taint of Original Sin (hence the presence of Adam and Eva to his left) was remedied for the dead, which allowed Jesus to defeat Satan and throw open the doors of Hell for all eternity, allowing the souls of the faithful to ascend to Heaven. Source: visit this website for the full article. Carvings of foliage on the spandrels of the cloister. Spot the little animal on the frieze. Carving on a spandrel of the cloister showing a man harvesting grapes. The abbey church seen from the cloister. The cloister, note the alternate arrangement of the two rows of columns. The apse of the abbey church seen from the outside. Naive statue of the Virgin with Child. Medieval paving in the crypte des Gros-Piliers (crypt of the big pillars). La salle des Chevaliers; hall of the knights. The western gallery of the cloister opening to the bay. The cloister with the abbey church to the left and the monk's refectory in the back. Vesper in the abbey church. It is open to everybody and times are advertised at the entrance. Be at the entrance of the abbey shortly before and somebody will come and guide you to the abbey church and back again. If like us you intend to attend vespers in the winter, make sure to have warm clothing and socks: it was quite cold! The Merveille is the name given to the gothic buildings in the northern part of the abbey. The outside is heavily fortified with very clear lines aiming up to the divine while the inside is superb gothic architecture. The Merveille, north view seen from the gardens.
Gothic choir of the abbey church
Click on the panorama to open a larger version in a separate tab. Click again to activate scrolling in the full picture.



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$ updated from: Le Mont Saint Michel.htxt Fri 16 Aug 2024 15:40:18 trvl2 — Copyright © 2024 Vero and Thomas Lauer unless otherwise stated | All rights reserved $