Paris1972-Versailles2003

And this one was a rescue from older misc posts and I feel deserves one post of its own. We go often to the neighboring Finistére and our vision of small quant towns have been enlarged!  Hanvec is a town in the Finistère department,29  in my lovely region of Bretagne between the harbor of Brest and the Monts d’Arrée, in the northern borders of Cornouaille, south-east of Brest and 15 km south of Landerneau. Let me tell you a bit about this is Hanvec !! Hope you enjoy the post as I

Eugène Boudin, Norman impressionist painter liked to stayed there. He let himself be seduced by the Breton skies, and by a local lady, Marie-Anne Guédès whom he married on January 14, 1853 in Le Havre. A great watercolourist, Boudin stayed many times at the manor of Kerohan in Lanvoy; he immortalized on his paintings the village, the church, the countryside and village life. One of my favorite painters and see my Honfleur posts.

Some of the things to see there are the Chapel of Lanvoy from the 11C, 16C and 18C, the former manor of Kerliver  14C to 16C, the Maison Herry b.1675. This house, steeped in history, successively town hall, prison, then café at the beginning of the 20C, saw the birth of  Michel Armand Herry on November 29, 1910. Resistance member, belonging to the Ronsard and Marathon network, he was shot dead by the Gestapo on May 19, 1944, just a few months after his marriage. Afterwards baptized “Maison Herry”, it was bought by the town in 2005.

The domaine de Ménez-Meur, vast of 520 hectares , was acquired by the general council of Finistère in 1969 and managed since its creation by the regional natural park of Armorique. The Ménez-Meur estate plays an educational role for the protection and management of natural environments, environmental awareness and contributes to the protection of regional breeds of domestic animals with low numbers such as Armorican cows, white pigs from the West, sheep from the Landes of Brittany, goats from Fossés, Breton black piebald cow etc, and even preserves a genetically reconstituted species: the aurochs.

We were remark to see passing by Hanvec, the nice imposing Church Saint Pierre (St Peter) in city center/downtown. This is a small town , where Eugéne Boudin describe it in 1867 as a vast town with a spectacular view of the inland hills. Vast history of Sirs of Kerohan and Quélen and many calvaries and monuments to show from old age. The Church Saint Pierre  is on the side of an older church of which the only remaining parts of the south porch from 1625 . After been almost in ruins it was ordered to rebuilt and finally finished in 1877 with the spiral tower not done until 1879.

The Church Saint Pierre has an old porch, of excellent fabrication dating from 1625 well preserved. The bell tower was completed in 1879. Three-navel Latin cross plan style church; bedside with cut-out sides flanked by two sacristies of rectangular plane. The south porch work on Granite-sized stone as well as the bell tower with open bell-chamber and corbally-made gallery, base of the octagonal arrow with a four-sided gallery with a large work in rubble of schist and granite covered with a light coating. Framing of the bays in kersantite and micro diorite stones. Thérèse, the biggest bell weighting 1100 kg and 1,20 meter in diameter was dating from 1964 was damaged and repair in 2013. Five-span nave illuminated by tall bays, octagonal pillars, broken arches, roofed paneling painted in blue on false vaulted arches of warheads resting on vegetal décor units located between the tall stained galls windows; the floor covered with granite slabs. The retable of the Rosary dates from the 17C. The Church houses the statues of St. Peter, Holy Philomène, Saint Nicodemus, Saint Corentin, Saint Herbot and a Crucifix of the 17C.

You are moved by the monument to the Fallen, by the above church. Or the monument aux morts.  The monument named 168 soldiers dead for France including 136 from WWI and 27 from WWII. It has the name of Etienne Rozuel inscribe on the canon . Surprise, he was born here in 1853 and goes on to a distinguished career that takes him to Mayotte in 1870, Saigon in 1872, on the sea of China and Japan in 1875, to Indochina area in 1880, with the float at Tonkin in 1883, until finally died at  Tientsin in 1875 during a French expedition in China.

The town of Hanvec on its heritage: https://www.mairie-hanvec.fr/patrimoine.php

The regional natural park of Armorique on the Domaine de Ménez-Meur: https://menez-meur.pnr-armorique.fr/#

There you go folks, another wonderful off the beaten path town of Hanvec as we did passing by.  Again, hope you enjoy this post on this is Hanvec !! as I. And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!