In 709, Saint Aubert, bishop of Avranches, decided to build a chapel and install priests to venerate Saint Michael the Archangel on a desert rock named Mount Tombe. In 966, some Benedictine monks settled there. They refurbished the dwellings to make them into a monastery. About the year 1020, the community decided to build an immense church on the summit of the rock. The monastic buildings were arranged round it on different levels. In the 13th century, some new buildings were erected on the northern side: six magnificent halls which immediately became known as 'la Merveille' – the Marvel. This was the apogee of the pilgrimages which made the Mount one of the most famous places in all Christendom. The collapse of the Romanesque choir in 1424 led to the building of a new, flamboyant Gothic choir, which gave the abbey church such an unconventional appearance.
Distance from the Château de Boucéel
13 km
21 minutes by car to the car park.
