Paris1972-Versailles2003

This is an off the beaten path town on my road warrior trips in my lovely Bretagne, I was there today nearby at Daoulas (see post), and with time decided to push on to L’Hôpital-Camfrout, or Hôpital-Camfrout, a town in the department 29 of Finistère, Therefore, I went to look for information and history on it as I do for all others to have firmly in place in my blog for years to come I hope.

The town of Hôpital-Camfrout forms, by the bay of Brest a peninsula between the estuary of the Camfrout river to the north and the Aulne estuary to the south, facing Landévennec located on the shore left of the maritime Alder , The town is part of the regional natural park of Armorique. The island of Tibidy depends administratively on the town. The Hospital-Camfrout was located on the old national road 170, a traditional route following the route of a Roman road then a royal road going from Quimper to Brignogan via Landerneau, and taken again by the current expressway national road 165 from Nantes to Brest via Quimper and the Iroise bridge, but with a modified route which now departs from the village of L’Hôpital-Camfrout, passing further east in a trench through the Bois du Gars, And this is now call the D770 which we took on this trip.

You have here a hamlet of Kerascoët part of L’Hôpital-Camfrout, but a port located further downstream on the left bank of the Camfrout river concentrating most of the town’s maritime activities. The town is also the home port of two old rigs, the Notre-Dame de Rumengol barge and the Shepherdess of Domrémy ;the port is also home to platforms, some sailboats and fishing boats. Troaon is with Kerascoët, one of the two largest villages dependent on the town. it is a fishing village, also having a beach, at the mouth of a small stream, the Vorlenn, The Sainte-Anne de Troaon Chapel was built in 1950 and has a recent statue of Saint Guénolé. A pardon takes place at this place every year in July with the traditional blessing of the sea on the shore of Troaon, a nearby port.

A bit of history I like

Hôpital-Camfrout was first a priory dependent on the Abbey of Saint-Guénolé de Landévennec with a charitable asylum and chaplaincy hospital created in 1072 by Justinius, abbot of Landévennec, under the name of Notre-Dame de Caristan, In the 12C , the Hospitallers of Saint-Jean-de-Jerusalem, located in their commandery of La Feuillée would have come to ensure order and benefit from the profit of it.

The Bretons, including Saint Jaoua, the legendary founder of the Abbey of Daoulas and Saint Guénolé, founder of that of Landévennec, would have landed nearby in the 6C. The Normans also landed here in the 10C. A text from the 11C tells us that a charity asylum, the priory of Notre-Dame-de-Caristan was built at the Hôpital-Camfrout by Justinius, abbot of Landévennec, for pilgrims from Hibernia (Ireland) and Scotland on a pilgrimage to Landévennec Abbey.

Kersanton stone had been mined for a long time, particularly directly on the beach in Kerascoët. The main quarries opened from the beginning of the 19C; they were located on the right bank of the estuary of the Camfrout river where there was a string of five open-air kersantite exploitations. The exploitation gradually ceased from 1950 and definitively in 1984. Nowadays, water holes mark the site of the old quarries, the working faces being still visible. Of which stone is made the base of the Statue of Liberty in New York? And much of the same rock that was used to make churches or lighthouses in the region. It is kersantite also called Kersanton stone!!

The main monument to see here ,me think, and we like it by the Camfrout river is the Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle Church, done of course in Kersantite stone, was started in 1490, and was a simple chapel in the parish of Hanvec. The choir has two bays with aisles forming a false transept to the south: it ends with a polygonal apse. The west facade dates from the 16C.

The porch dates from 1611, the sacristy and the transept from 1634. In 1821, it becomes a parish church. It contains a very beautiful statuary; the quarry pits of the Choir bear the coats of arms of the Dukes of Brittany, the Viscounts of Faou and the Lords of Rosmorduc; a polychrome stone statue of Saint Barbe (Santa Barbara), was sculpted in 1511 at the request of Jehan du Vieux-Châtel, the last commissioning abbot of Landévennec. A statue of Saint John the Baptist in polychrome wood was made by the same sculptor. A set of three polychrome wooden statues , known as the crucifixion erected as a beam of glory in the center of the church and dated 1678. Above the door are three shell niches: the middle one houses a statue of Our Lady of Pity. Inside are several ancient statues: Our Lady of Good News, Saint Yves, Saint Sebastian, Saint John the Baptist, Saint Mathurin, Saint Fiacre, Saint Barbe (1511), an Ecce Homo and a Crucifix between the Virgin and Saint John dating from 1678.

The western facade entirely in Kersanton stone, in the Renaissance style, is remarkable for its quality and craftsmanship. delicacy of his sculptures. On this facade, there is a Kersantite statue representing Saint Guénolé and dated 1983 , the abbot has his right hand blessing and holds a closed book in his left hand. ,A lepers door dates from 1736. A fire that occurred during the night of February 11 to 12, 1825 destroyed much of the frame and roof. The facade porch dates from 1611 and the bell tower. Six stained glass windows were installed in 1955, The parish church has a small relic of Saint Idunet, one of Saint Guénolé’s companions.The stained glass window (1984) of the south wall, represents Saint Guénolé and his disciples.

Other worth seeing with more time is the Sainte-Anne Chapel done in 1950, located in the village of Troaon, facing the island of Tibidy. There is a statue of Saint Guénolé (1954) and a painting. The fountain of Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle, also known as the fountain of the Virgin, built in 1699, is located 500 meters south of the main church. It houses a crowned Virgin of the 14C. The island of Tibidy is the place of stay of Saint Guénolé in the 6C, and his eleven companions, before building the Abbey of Landévennec.

The city of L’Hôpital-Camfrout on its heritage including the church: http://www.lhopital-camfrout.fr/fr/information/70775/la-commune

There you go folks, another dandy discovery in my lovely Bretagne. Another off the beaten path monument that would worth the detour to see, the main Church Notre Dame de Bonne Nouvelle. The wonders of my road warrior travels never cease to amaze me. Hoping you enjoy the post finding as I

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!

This is even an off the beaten path trip for us, We went to Plougastel-Daoulas for many occasions such as even boys birthdays, and sightseeing, However, unknown to us at the time, there is another town next to it and with only the name of Daoulas with a historical abbey, so we took off there. This was to be an updated entry in my blog but we went again this morning and took newer pictures. Therefore, here is the old text refresh with new pictures on the Abbey of Daoulas .Hope you enjoy it as I.

Daoulas is a town in the department of Finistere no 29, in the Brittany region, known mainly for the Notre-Dame de Daoulas abbey. This town is located at the confluence of two rivers, the Mignonne and Lézuzan. Further upstream, the manor of Kerdaoulas dominates the valley. This town is located at the bottom of the harbor of Brest, bordering the estuary of the river Daoulas, in typical situation of estuary bottom, at the limit of the navigability and the rise of the influence of the tide.

Daoulas has a magnificent abbey, an old monastery done by the 12C ,by the canons of the order  of Saint Augustin, the abbey still shows great architecture of its old beauty. A  cloister from the 12C unique example of it in Brittany , a fountain, an oratory  from the 16C and a conventional house from the 18C. An exceptional garden  with medical plants inspired by the monastic gardens of the 14C grouping about  250 species of condiments, the therapeutics, aromatics, exotics even magical  plants. In addition to 5 hectares of discovery gardens with small pond , old water washing machines, and sheeps from the region of the island of Ouessant. It’s a magical place.

A bit of history I like

The legend, tell us of the Life of Saint Jaoua and then repeated by several authors says that a lord of Faou, still pagan, has committed a double crime in the Church of Daoulas. The latter, having become a Christian, in reparation for his crime, founded the Monastery of Daoulas, or both wounds, of the two pains, at the very place where St. Judulus had been assassinated by him. Saint Jaoua was charged with the construction of the monastery and proved that he was a very good architect.  This town is known for events related to the revolt of the Bonnet Rouges (Red Bonnets) against the taxes of the king,  which reaches the area of ​​Daoulas July 3 and 4, 1675.  The port of Daoulas was as prosperous as that of Brest in the first half of the 17C. The union of the abbey with the seminary of Brest for the benefit of the Jesuits in 1692 led to the dispersion of the canons; it was the beginning of the decadence of Daoulas, that the suppression of the lords’s justice in 1790 accentuated the decline. Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie de Montijo passed by Daoulas on August 12, 1858.

The things to see here and very much worth the visit are

The Notre-Dame de Daoulas abbey and its gardens belong to the General Council of Finistère. The fountain Notre-Dame-des-Fontaines contains a Virgin and Child holding an apple in the hand, symbol of original sin. It has probably been built on the site of a former pagan place of worship, especially druidic as a very old statue located nearby seems to illustrate. The three basins of the fountain recall the Holy Trinity. The basin of the fountain forms a rectangle of 6 meters by 4 meters and is surmounted by a sort of small Gothic chapel made of Kersanton stone, covered with two acute crawlers with pinnacles at the four corners. Gothic style, it was rebuilt in 1550. This fountain was in the past the object of great devotion.

The parish Church of Notre-Dame, is formed of the remaining Romanesque parts of the old abbey church and a neo-Romanesque part rebuilt in the 19C. the building to a supposed Romanesque state and brought down the choir of the 16C, very large, and the bell tower that threatened to collapse. The mission cross is on the site of the old choir. The Romanesque abbey remains the west facade, the nave and the north aisle dating from the last quarter of the 12C. The nave of seven bays 28 meters long, 12.5 meters high  is covered with a frame. Above, large splayed windows are pierced in the bare wall. The spans are not marked and the carved decoration is banned. At the end of the nave, the west wall is pierced by a door underlined by moldings and engaged columns. On the second level, three beautifully-sized windows with moldings cover the entire width of the wall, surmounted by a small window at the frame’s cradle. The choir and the two apsidioles, vaulted in a cul-de-four, directly extend the nave and the aisles, without transept. They are neo-romans ,19C, as is the south aisle and porch. The wall of the apse is animated by a series of seven blind arcades, supported by carved capitals imitating those of the cloister, where are inscribed in the axis three semicircular windows. The crests of the sacristy date from the 16C. In 1984, the altarpiece of the Virgin in the sacristy was restored and moved to the left side of the church. In polychrome wood, its pediment represents the eternal Father framed by 2 angels, the base represents at its ends, the adoration of the Magi and the Assumption of Mary.

The entrance porch of the parish enclosure has a calvary, known as the Porch to the Apostles, corresponds to the old porch of the Renaissance-style church and basket-handle, which was transplanted there in the course of the 19C. It was replaced on the south facade of the parish church by a neo-Roman porch.The ordeal located at the entrance of the cemetery is simple only one cross, but is double-sided. The old Ossuary dates from 1454. It was transformed into a Sacristy in the 19C. It is a rectangular building in Kersanton stones with the exception of the basement. It bears an inscription with the date of 1589 and the arms of Father René Du Louet.

It’s a small town packing a lot of history and architecture that is worth going in and on the off the beaten path cycle of my lovely Brittany or Bretagne. Daoulas is worth the detour, me think.

Some webpages to help you plan your trip are:

The city of Daoulas on the abbey: https://daoulas.bzh/fr/rb/854128/labbaye-de-daoulas-et-les-monuments-classes

The Landerneau-Daoulas tourist office on the abbey: https://www.tourisme-landerneau-daoulas.fr/decouvrir/actualites/a-daoulas-les-decouvertes-vous-attendent-7381

The Bretagne region tourist board on the abbey: https://www.brittanytourism.com/offers/abbaye-de-daoulas-daoulas-en-2016044/

There you go folks, you are now arm to come see this jewel of my lovely Brittany, and belle France; Daoulas is super , small but packing a lot of history/architecture in it. Hope you enjoy it as I did.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!