Here I am back in my neck of the woods and doing what I like best ,road warrior checking the beauties out of my beautiful Morbihan dept 56 in lovely Bretagne, and in my belle France.
My latest have been to nearby Auray, historic town and gorgeous architecture. For reference, Auray is 13 km from my house city center to city center. I have many posts in my blog on the town,and of course done one previously on the subject of this new text/photo post. The Church Charles de Blois of Auray.
Well I like to bring you back to lovely historical Auray (historical from the point of view of France, Canada, and the USA) ,and its wonderful monuments on the off the beaten path routine. One of them would tell you a bit more now is the Church of Charles de Blois near the train station of Auray! Again closed but new photos and will be back in heritage day to see the inside!!! The Church of Charles de Blois began to be built in 1929, and consecrated in 1939. Located at Place Léon Chevassu. It is the youngest church in the country of Auray. On September 30, the parishioners of the Charles-de-Blois Church will celebrate the 93 years of the religious building.
Access to the Church of Charles de Blois is from the east. It is a gabled facade adorned with Lombard bands. It consists of a semicircular portal surmounted by a rose window, and has a small bell tower to its left. The main bell tower is to the west of the building, it is a Cornish bell tower. The coverage of the building is polygonal on its central part and with a double slope for the rest. The side walls are pierced with windows.
Charles of Blois was Duke of Brittany!!! The opposing Jean de Montfort did not wish to submit to this sentence, and the war was declared and lasted for more than twenty years!. The death in combat at the Battle of Auray , which actually took place on the territory of Brech of Charles de Blois ended the war of succession of Bretagne. He is buried at the Church Notre Dame de Grâces near Guingamp. On December 14, 1904, Pope Pius X solemnly recognized that the cult of blessed Charles of Blois had been maintained throughout the centuries. He was beatified then.
His reliquary is still in the Church of Notre-Dame de Grâces. In the second half of the 19C, the cult of Breton saints developed in a context of Catholic reconquest and strong tensions with the French Republic. Charles de Blois is then seen as a martyr who sacrificed himself for Brittany. The other Jean de Montfort, then duke Jean IV installs a new dynasty which would govern the duchy for more than a century until Anne de Bretagne. These battles, which bring about a change of dynasty, are exceptional in the history of the middle ages. Furthermore, Jean IV (John) owes his throne not to the King of France, but to a victory by arms on the battlefield. He took advantage of this situation to undertake a policy of independence, which transformed the duchy into a princely state.
The Battle of Auray: On the death of Duke Jean III on April 30, 1341 in Caen, without heir, for nearly a quarter of a century, each side, French and English, supported its own contender for the Duchy of Brittany. On the French side Charles de Blois and on the English side Jean , Count of Montfort; also said to be the Conqueror. This year 1364 is so important, it marks an escalation in the rivalry between English-French because we are talking about Anglo-Bretons on one side and Franco-Bretons on the other. This is the battle where Jean de Montfort’s troops were already there, present on the Chartreuse in Brech (see post) plateau for several weeks; while Charles de Blois occupied Kerzo and the surrounding area in Pluneret . In the valley of Rostevel which separates these two points, it is there that the decisive battle of Auray (or Brech) was fought on September 29. The battle of Auray may well appear as “one of the greatest events in the history of Brittany”, and perhaps even “the only decisive event in the history of the duchy at the end of the Middle Ages”: a memorable struggle which was to decide the fate of Brittany. This battle of Auray marks the end of feudalism in Brittany.
Unless on site or a brochure from the tourist office or one of my books on the history of Auray, very hard to find info on the web on this church. Due to its history and independance tendencies. The last two photos above are outside the church, the first one is a statue on a fountain of the St Mary and the last one is of course, Jeanne d’Arc.
The parish of the Auray countryside has contacts: https://paroisses-pays-auray.fr/presentation-2/
The city of Auray on heritage in book form: https://www.auray.fr/Culture-Loisirs/Archives-et-Patrimoine/Les-publications
The city of Auray for September 19/20 on European Heritage Days places open some already you can see other like Charles de Blois will need to come back on these days to see it. https://www.auray.fr/Culture-Loisirs/Archives-et-Patrimoine/Journees-europeennes-du-patrimoine
I will try to see if can see during the European Heritage Days, if not well keep giving you new photos of the exterior. An impressive church and nice history of Auray, very close to the train station direct to Paris-Montparnasse TGV! Hope you enjoy this version of the Church Charles de Blois of Auray
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 