Pontorson History, France

History of Pontorson: How the city was formed after fierce battles

Pontorson is one of the frequently visited cities of France. Its proximity to one of the renowned hotspots of France known as Mount Saint Michael is one of the reasons behind its popularity. This city is also a unique place where you can find churches like the Notre Dame, which was built around 1950.  In the whole of Europe, you can hardly find a more beautiful church than Notre Dame of Pontorson,  which has 2 beautifully made Roman towers at its front gate.

Gothic style of art and architecture is quite prevalent in the churches and other monuments present in this city. In 1950, a Protestant Temple was built by Gabriel II of Montgomery. Today innumerable historical and art exhibitions are held in this temple.

Walking towards the Mount, you’ll find an exquisite and magnificent house, located on Rue Saint Michael. This house belongs to the 15th century. Stone embellishments and warheads are some of the prominent features of this architecture. It is believed that this house was the grand abode of the Guischard. This abode has emerged as one of the tourist attractions in the small city of Pontorson.

According to the historical sources, it’s been revealed that years ago, Charles, the then King of France, had conferred Normandy, a region earlier called as Rollon, to his Chief Viking. This unfortunately led to the initiation of slaughtering and devastating battles in between the two provinces of Brittany and Normandy. Later, in 1930, the construction of a bridge took place by Normand Orson, under the guidance of Robert le Diable.

This bridge was constructed to lessen the battles amidst the two provinces and to demarcate their specific boundaries. In this course, the city of Pontorson was given birth, with the boundaries strengthening its existence. This had led to severe defiance and revolts from the natives, but then in the longer run, aided in the development and concretization of the city.

In 1944, after several battles and fierce altercations, it was Pontorson which marked the advancing point of the army. The city still has the remains of the military sites to act as fruitful reminders of its history.

Thus, Pontorson is one of the living reminders of the fierce battles, military combat and division of states in France. These definitely marked the city as one of the towns with special historical significance.