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And as said, need to write more of places near me they are superb! We have visited Crac’h many times and one of my son’s even worked here , but little written in my blog, pity! I need to remedy that and will bring you to the main monument in town, the Church St Thuriau of Crac’h!! Passing in Armistice Day or the end of WWI celebration had an additional meaning to it. Hope you enjoy it as I.

The town of Crac’h is located in the beautiful Morbihan department 56, in the lovely region of Bretagne, and is part of the Auray Quiberon Terre Atlantique community of towns like mine. The town of Crac’h is bordered to the east by the Auray river, to the west by the Crac’h river, to the south by the towns of Saint-Philibert and Locmariaquer and to the north by the town of Auray.

I would say the main monument here and worth the detour is the Church Saint-Thuriau. The parish church dates from 1809. It has undergone several restorations. The story goes that in 1828 the Duchess of Berry granted the town assistance for repairs of the bell tower located near the coast would be a useful point of view for navigators. Above the west porch, a stone bears an inscription in Latin referring to the altitude. In 1904, the church received three beautiful new bells from Villedieu-les-Poêles.

The Church Saint Thuriau is shaped like a Latin cross, it is augmented by a square tower and a porch. The bell tower has three unequal floors and a pyramidal spire. The bell tower itself is open in four arched bays. Corner pilasters and a balustrade crown the tower. The porch has a pediment which reads: “Here is the house of God and the gate of heaven”. Inside the porch, two stone benches lean against the walls and a large holy water font is near the entrance gate.

Inside the Church Saint Thuriau, the nave is paved with stones. The wings of the transept open with daring semicircular arches, which takes place on a circular podium. The bust and the reliquary arm of Saint Thuriau contribute to the richness of the sanctuary. (The relics of this saint were brought to the Duke of Brittany at the castle of Auray then entrusted to the parish of Crac’h).  Of the large triptych altarpiece of the previous church, only the Corinthian columns framing the painting of the Descent from the Cross by Jouvenet, the original of which from 1700 is in the Louvre museum, and separating the statues of Saint-Huriau. and Saint Clair. The side altarpieces feature falling flowers and garlands topped with faces of cherubs.

There is also, The Donation of the Rosary with the figure on the left at the foot of the Virgin would be Saint Dominic and the dog, symbol of fidelity, carries the torch of faith in its mouth. On the other painting the Virgin, Saint Anne and Saint Joachim dates from 1882. Other statues enrich the church such as Saint Isidore, Saint Mathurin, Our Lady of Clarity, Saint Thuriau, Saint Appoline and Saint Avertin. At the back of the church, a vast tribune rests on four columns with Corinthian capitals and its balustrade is adorned with two angels brought back from the old altar. The organ comes from Sainte-Anne d’Auray.

The city of Crac’h on its heritage so the church: https://www.ville-crach.fr/fr-l-eglise-paroissiale,6,98.html

The Bay of Quiberon tourist office on Crac’h: https://www.baiedequiberon.co.uk/crac-h

There you go folks, another dandy spot in my beautiful Morbihan. Crac’h is worth the detour for its many monuments and foodies of the bay like oysters! You will do well to stop by and we love it, now more time in it. Hope you enjoy the Church St Thuriau as I

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

And here we are, this is a town close to mine and one of my son’s worked here! We have passed by it several times yet my stories on the town are minimal. I try to remedy that on this memorable day of 11 November 2021 in my beautiful Morbihan and my lovely Bretagne of my belle France! Let me tell you about some of the curiosities of Crac’h!!

The town of Crac’h is also, part of the Auray Quiberon Terre Atlantique community of towns like mine. The town of Crac’h is bordered to the east by the Auray river, to the west by the Crac’h river, to the south by the towns of Saint-Philibert and Locmariaquer and to the north by the town of Auray.

You can get to Crac’h easily from the expressway N165 Nantes-Brest exit for Crac’h/Saint Philibert/ Locmaraiquer/La Trinité sur Mer exit/sortie 32. The dept capital city of Vannes is only 23 km away , Auray is 6 km, and Paris is 480 km away, It is about 23 km from my house. Once off the N165 you get on the D28 which to the south joins the D 781 in the direction of Locmariaquer or La Trinité-sur-Mer depending on the direction taken. The nearest train station is in Auray with TGV and TER service to Paris, Rennes, Nantes, etc you need to take a bus or taxi to Crac’h, The nearest airport is Lorient Bretagne-Sud, I always come here by car of course.

A bit of history I like

The Breton emigrants, who came from the British Isles in the 5-6C, colonized the territories of Crach, like those of the rest of Armorica, which then became Brittany/Bretagne/Breizh, to such an extent that all the place names are borrowed from the language which has become Breton, starting with that of the parish. Crac’h, in all likelihood, is a variant of “Kreac’h, kreh” which means: hill,a hill.

The Fort Espagnol or Spanish Fort was the result of the Wars of the League, in 1590, the Duke of Mercœur, governor of Brittany, at the head of the Breton League, appealed to the King of Spain Felipe II, who sent 3000 Spanish soldiers, commanded by Juan de Aguila, who arrived in Vannes in October 1590. In 1598, the Peace of Vervins put an end to the Spanish occupation, which caused the departure of their soldiers. Around this area plenty of oyster farming the very best of Morbihan, and sold to the public as well.

 The Notre-Dame du Plas Kaer Chapel built in 1873-1874, on the site of an old 15C chapel and built by the Templars. It is, they say, that at the end of 1797 or at the beginning of 1798, that the monastery of the Templars, located to the north of the chapel and the chapel would have been set on fire and devastated during the French revolution. The square bell tower houses a bell dating from 1468. The statue of Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows dominates the entrance gate. This chapel was practically in ruins in 1970 before being restored as of today.

Some of the other things to see here are the Pont de Kerisper bridge (see post) was built between 1899 and 1901, This bridge consisted of stone arches at both ends, with a metal deck (Eiffel type) 100 meters long and single-track in its central part. This bridge was destroyed by the Nazis on August 8, 1944. The new and current Kerisper bridge was inaugurated in 1956.

The castle of Kerantrech served as a refuge for fleeing emigrants after the Quiberon expedition in 1795 (Breton immigrants from England coming to fight the French revolution for king), Several inhabitants of Crac’h were Chouans (as the rebels were call by the revoluitionaries meaning farmers from Bretagne). The cemetery ossuary, was formerly leaning against the church, it has been transported to the cemetery and lean-to on the back wall. Its long facade has at the base a low wall with a protruding cornice, above a skeleton made of four series of balusters separated by short piles and finally a drip edge under the roof. Larger, the central stack bears an inscription with the emblem of death: a skull and crossed tibias. It is dominated by a small cross.

In the old enclosure of the cemetery there was a chapel dedicated to Saint Yves. It received a new bell in 1867, relics of Saint Louis and Saint Helena in 1875. It was then used as a chapel for the Congregation. Between the door and the square steeple, a small niche contains a granite statue of Saint-Yves The vault of the nave shelters a colony of bats, large murines , It is a rare and protected species.

The city of Crac’h on its heritage : https://www.ville-crach.fr/fr-eglise-et-chapelles,6.html

The Bay of Quiberon tourist office on Crac’h : https://www.baiedequiberon.co.uk/crac-h

There you go folks, a dandy little town ,nice clean with lots of action as today was also market day and we load up on baguette tradition, cheeses of the Tarn dept, Loire, and Bretagne of cows, goats,and sheep milks for our delight as always. Hope you enjoy the post and do stop by Crac’h worth the detour me think.

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