And now this is a new one, just doing again my road warrior trip in my lovely Bretagne. We went out again to the north , dept 22 Côtes d’Armor and a town we had like but been a while not been to. Let me tell you more on curiosities of Saint Brieuc !!! Hope you enjoy it as I.
For a refresher , Saint Brieuc has connection with the TGV train from Paris Montparnasse. By car, you easily can reach it on the N12 from Rennes in one hour. The bus terminal has access to all the major big lines to the rest of France. We came up on the D768 direction Baud, Pontivy, changing to the D700, direction Loudéac, and Saint Brieuc right into centre ville or city center in about 1h25.
Also, next door to the cathedral in the place du Martray you have the beautiful halle Georges Brassens where open market is held, the rdv of all Briochins! the local people of Saint Brieuc!(see post).
As it was a Sunday, easy to move about in a city with dead ends one way roads etc not the most car pleasant town. The new finds on this road warrior trip were:
The Saint-Michel Church a 19C neoclassical church. The current church replaces a 13C chapel, founded by the lords of Boisboissel, which was rebuilt in 1470 and used until 1835. In 1839, it was destroyed as well as the cemetery. The construction of the new Saint-Michel Church took place between 1837 and 1841. The church was blessed on October 25, 1841 and was consecrated on July 25, 1875. A large part of the paintings are by Raphaël Donguy and the statues of Saint John the Baptist and Saint Michel are the work of Pierre-Marie-François Ogé , and the chair that of Yves Corlay. The glass roofs are the work of Gérard Petit , master glassmaker from Strasbourg.
The anecdote here that I could find is that Ferdinand Foch, future Marshal of France and commander-in-chief of the allied troops in 1918, religiously married Julie Bienvenüe (born in Saint-Brieuc, niece of Fulgence Bienvenüe (as the metro in Montparnasse Paris) on November 5, 1883. The street leading to the church also bears the name of “rue du Maréchal Foch”. In his novel Le Sang noir, published in 1935, the Breton writer Louis Guilloux refers to the Saint-Michel Church. During the nazi occupation of WWII, Father Fleury hides a clandestine transmitter behind the organ. Father Fleury will be arrested and killed in 1944.
This is a webpage on the St Michel Church and on painter Raphäel Donguy: https://eglise-saint-michel.pagesperso-orange.fr/
The Sainte-Thérèse-de-Gouédic Church located Place Sainte-Thérèse. This is a church built from 1929 to 1932. the frescoes are by the local painter André Coupé. It is a modern church comprising a single nave with narrow passages on the sides and a large gallery at the bottom of the nave. The bells were placed in 1935. Its massive exterior appearance contrasts with its light interior proportions and luminosity. The first stone of the church was blessed on May 19, 1929. The whole church was blessed on December 11, 1932 and consecrated in 1955. No web of tourist interest ,yet it is in a nice neighborhood with nice big homes.
The city of Saint Brieuc and its heritage/history: https://www.saint-brieuc.fr/ville-dynamique/histoire-et-patrimoine/le-patrimoine-briochin/
The Bay of Saint Brieuc tourist office on Saint Brieuc: https://www.baiedesaintbrieuc.com/saint-brieuc/
And there you go folks, another dandy nice trip in my lovely Bretagne where the places to see are unlimited and even those already visited holds still many nice secrets. Again, hope you enjoy the post on curiosities of Saint Brieuc, part II !!! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 