If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 607, part 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Mont-Saint-Michel (Manche) “The Mount Saint-Michel,” France

 

This is a completely different view of Mount-Saint-Michel than is normally photographed.  The Vintage postcard is damaged, a corner is missing, but the picture is interesting, so I chose to add it to my collection.  The left edge of the card is perforated, which suggests that it was originally in a booklet of several “tear out” cards.  Along the upper left side is the name of the editor:  J. Sorrel. The printer-publisher logo was printed at the center line on the reverse.

 

 

Logo found on the center line, reverse side

The famous abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel is located on a tidal island in Normandy, France.  The first monastic establishment was constructed here during the 8^th century.  Once the Mont was on dry land but as sea levels rose, erosion occurred over.  Several outcroppings of granite were left in the bay and produced the tidal island.  It was accessible at low tide allowing pilgrims to cross on dry land.  At high tide those on the island would be stranded. 

 

 Modern aerial view

By User:Fabos~commonswiki - Own work, Public Domain, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=604843

 

During the reign of Louis XI the island was used as a prison.  The tides also provided defense during wars as enemies were driven away by incoming water or drowned.  As an example, during the 100 years ward an attack by the English in 1433 was repelled by a small garrison.  The original tidal causeway was raised in 1879 to help prevent erosion around the mount.  Dikes on the coastal flats created pastureland and decreased the distance between the shore and the island.  

 

 

The new bridge

 By Mathias Neveling - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34173554   

 As silt accumulation threatened the island the French government began a project starting in 2006 to build a hydraulic dam, remove the causeway and a visitor car park.  Since 2012 a new car park on the mainland has been built about 1.5 miles or 2.5 km from the island.  In 2014 a new bridge opened to the public.  The new bridge improves the water flow around the island and the efficiency of the dam.  Visitors can walk or use shuttles to cross the causeway.

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont-Saint-Michel

Modern pictures from Wikipedia.