A major place of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages, Mont-Saint-Michel is an intimate mixture of the religious and the military. Strategically located between France and England, the Mont has always interested the English, who often tried to seize it. It was therefore vital for its survival to build ramparts in places accessible at low tide. Built from the 13th to the 16th centuries to protect the village, the fortifications are a remarkable example of medieval defensive military architecture. Composed of curtain walls flanked by semi-circular towers and a bastioned tower, the ramparts are mainly located on the southern and eastern flanks of the rock.