And it seems to me, that I had concentrated the writings on the old town and ramparts of Vannes ,when the city is much older elsewhere! Well, as said, so much to write in my lovely Morbihan , beautiful Bretagne and wonderful Vannes things can be overlook for a while.
I will try to remedy that in this post on the neighborhood or quartier Saint Patern. A bit of the architecture and history I like.
The territory of the Faubourg Saint-Patern is bounded by the Porte-Prison and the bottom of the current rue du Mené ,by the Administrative City and the cemetery of Boismoreau, by the gardens of the Prefecture and by the Tête Noire or route de Rennes. The suburb of Saint-Patern, on the hill of Boismoreau, urbanized between the 1C and the 3C (forum and basilica, site excavated between 1988 and 1991), does not retain any townhouses dating from before the 15C!. The oldest buildings located rue Saint-Nicolas and place de Gaulle were replaced by buildings at the beginning of the 19c; the cloister built in the 17C by the construction of the Petit-Fers establishments around 1895. Under the rue Saint-Nicolas, heavily backfilled, the remains of two bridges spanning the stream as well as the base of some houses in the rue Saint-Nicolas.
The natural environment is marked by the site’s escarpment on the hillside with the summit occupied by Place Cabello. From the inner city, the access to the suburb passes over the stream of the Bishop’s mill, which is channelled today. The Faubourg Saint-Patern forms an agglomerated fabric made up of islets of irregular shapes, crossed by a network of streets and alleys. The identified and selected houses are located within a perimeter positioned around the city walls. the most striking is the closure in the middle of the 18C of the rue de la Petite Garenne, a route of Roman origin, in favor of the current route of the rue du Maréchal Leclerc and the place du Général de Gaulle. In total, 21 blocks or part of blocks are identified, limited by 23 streets, alleys or squares. The houses are built in line with the streets while the rear facades open onto small courtyards of old gardens which housed secondary buildings: sheds and stables. There are a few houses with gardens set up in the middle of the plot in the block between rue Saint-Patern and rue du Four. Some pedestrian crossings built today, arranged between the houses to move easily between the streets are still detectable in several places, and this despite the successive land upheavals. Finally, some houses are distinguished by specific access or circulation, especially on the ground floor.
As said ,the main sight to see here is the Church Saint Patern,(see post) a must and do keep trying to see the interior. However, there are other interestings buildings will briefly tell you about it here. The Chapelle Sainte Catherine chapel renovated in 1848, also called Chapelle de la Congregation is next to the Church Saint-Patern.
The préfécture or regional government building at Rue Alain le Grand is for official events only as the administrative part is elsewhere in city center by Place de la République. Inaugurated in 1865, this prestigious building is built on the site of a former convent. A large park surrounds this U-shaped building. On the pediment, a bas relief shows two important figures in the history of Brittany: Nominoë and Alain Barbetorte, as well as the imperial eagle and the arrival of the railway at Vannes in 1862.
The building of the old Petit-Fers establishments is an old industrial building built across from the Morbihan prefecture regional government building in Rue Alain le Grand. This building was built between 1894 and 1906 by the Petit family, who were metal traders. The building served as a warehouse until the 1970s. It was then partly redeveloped into a shopping mall known as “Les Arcades” before being transformed into several businesses. The Petit-Fers building was developed on two levels with a large volume reserved for the store and apartments located in the attic. It has a metal framework and a T-shaped plan. The rich decoration of the facade combines granite, limestone, tufa, brick, as well as cast iron columns and enamelled ceramic.
And of course, walking, it is always nice to see visitors taking a ride in the Petit Train by rue du Four old Saint Patern neighborhood!! On a sunny afternoon!
The tourist office of the Gulf of Morbihan on the St Patern’s neighborhood: https://www.golfedumorbihan.bzh/explorer-vannes/activites-vannes/randonnee-pedestre/balades-urbaines-vannes/le-quartier-saint-patern/
In all , always a pleasant walk in my capital city of Vannes. Hope you enjoy the walk as we did on a nice Sunday afternoon where was glad to find restos open in this quartier or neighborhood! Remember to stop by Saint Patern.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 