Paris1972-Versailles2003

And again staying in Le Bono just to show the wealth we have here, the beat goes on. In my beautiful Morbihan, and lovely Bretagne, the monuments, sights and plain fun are forever.  If Hemingway only would had gone out of Paris, Let me tell you about a wonderful Church Stella Maris or star of the sea under the patronage of Notre Dame des Flots, patron saint of sailors!

I have written on Le Bono before and on this church but just went by again today , and was able to have a nice lady open the church for me !! well its about opening time and just got there at the right time! ,so will update the text and include new pictures. Hope you enjoy the post , the town, and the Church Stella Maris.

The Church Stella Maris (star of the sea) under the patronage of Notre Dame des Flots  is at the top of  Rue Edouard Herriot, near the roundabout of the Avenue Général de Gaulle ( road D101) in Le Bono, (which goes into Auray and direction my house . Started in 1956, it was completed only in 1966 thanks to the donations of the parishioners. Inside, there is an altarpiece in carved and painted wood dating from the late 15C to early 16C.

The Church Stella Maris and sometimes by locasl call Church Notre Dame des Flots is a stone-sized with a metal structure. Inside, its brick vault gives the choir in a lighted oven of three rosettes a beautiful effect. It adopts a Romanesque style with a nave pierced by triple windows dressed in stained glass with major shades of blue and red. The bottom of the Church in a semicircle is adorned with a fresco in shades of yellow and green. Curiously, a carved wooden tympanum of the Italian Renaissance and an altarpiece carved and painted on a small altar dating from the end of the 15C early 16C,time of king Louis XII, was discovered.

The atmosphere of contemplation is created by the splendid stained glass windows, and in white stone, the statue of the Virgin Notre Dame des Flots, patron saint of Sailors. There are, also boats ex-voto like these shown in this webpage: https://www.ex-voto-marins.net/pages/lieupage56LeBonoEglise.htm

There is a nice calvary just on the right side of the Church Stella Maris which is nice me think as in same property will include here for me and you. This calvary marks the spot entrance of the old cemetery.

A bit more on Le Bono. It was a former property of the monks of Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys, the Domaine du Bono was sold with house, building and land of water passage to the Chevalier Pierre de Montigny,  Lord of Kerisper in 1669. This former fishing village is home to a small port known for its boats called “forbans”. At the beginning of the 20C, there was only a small fishing village around the port, whose uniform houses “Pen-TI ” were grouped along a capricious network of narrow and often steep alleyways. The port of Bono is located on the edge of the river. The site is an old cove lined with a rocky chain. The port, which dries at low tide, was built in 1916.

The city of Le Bono on the church: https://www.lebono.fr/decouvrir-le-bono/patrimoine/leglise-paroissiale-stella-maris/

The city of Le Bono on its heritage: https://www.lebono.fr/decouvrir-le-bono/

There you go folks , some more interesting trips off the beaten path in my beautiful Morbihan; and is not over yet!! Plenty more to see and do here. For now ,enjoy Le Bono ,and the Church Stella Maris aka Notre Dame des Flots!

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

Ok so moving around updating some older posts, again, came up with pictures not yet shown in my blog! I need to do this new post with older pictures of the stones megaliths or tumulus tombs of Kernours in the town of Le Bono just south of me; (see my  posts). This is very much revered here as stones are central to celtic traditions and I am in Bretagne land. Hope you enjoy this historical and educational post as I.

The Kernours tumulus is located at a place called Le Rocher, in the town of Le Bono. It is one of the seven known tumulus of this type, which are all found between the estuaries of the Loire and the Blavet rivers. It is the only one of the seven to have preserved its mound , which measures 4 meters high and 20 meters in diameter.

The tumulus of Kernours are circular burials under a tumular mound. Under the tumulus, there is a dolmen with a covered alley, bent in L shape of18 meters, composed of 36 stones supporting 14 tables. The totem of a maritime tribe as the octopus or morgate are engraved on some pillars. Its dating dates back to the end of the 11C BC. It is a common burial place. It is surrounded by six circular burials, called tombs, which date from the Iron Age (15C BC). Some of the 24 bronze bracelets found in these tombs are on display at the Museum of Prehistory in Carnac(see post).

The peculiarity of this collective burial tomb lies in its angled plan as are identical to some monuments located on the coastal border between the Loire estuary and the mouth of the Blavet. Their specific architecture appears towards the end of the 4C BC. The presence of Conguel-type pottery in the funerary space indicates frequentation of the tomb around the middle of the 3C BC.

A room decorated with engravings, On the left wall, the twelfth pillar keeps in its upper part the remains of an escutcheon engraving. Opposite it ,on the opposite wall , a grazing light reveals a decor of the same style. A necropolis used for several millennia, Nearly 2,500 years later the cultures of the Iron Age will come to place several tombs near the Tumulus of the Rock, the importance of this monument having designated this moor as a necropolis. Originally, each tomb looked like a circular structure marked by dry stone masonry that could reach a height of one meter. In the center was placed the receptacle of human remains in a stone chest. The whole was then covered with an earthen dome allowing each of the burials to reach between three and four meters. Impressive !!

The city of Le Bono on its Kernours : https://www.lebono.fr/decouvrir-le-bono/patrimoine/le-tumulus-et-les-tombelles-de-kernours/

The Morbihan megalithes on the Kernours : https://www.megalithes-morbihan.com/the-sites/le-rocher-dolmen-and-tumulus-kernours.html

The Megalithes Breton 56 webpage on the Kernours with nice pictures : http://megalithes-breton.fr/56/tu/kernouz.html

One of the highlights of the region of Bretagne is the fact of these stones that are world famous and practically impossible to estimate exactly their age. They are all over the Morbihan and the one in Le Bono is a nice one indeed. Hope you enjoy the educational historical and architecturally story of the tumulus of Kernours!

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