Paris1972-Versailles2003

So I bring you back once again, to tell you again about the wonderful town of Dinan, in the Côtes d’Armor dept 22 of my lovely Bretagne. I took some older pictures from my vault that were not in my blog yet and this is as good a time as any. We have visited Dinan,several times and each time a new adventure with pics for the memories unfold. We go always by car of course. Let me tell you about more curiosities of Dinan for all!

You can admire the wonderful statue on Jehan III (or IV) de Beaumanoir, was a Marshal of Bretagne/Brittany. Knighted in 1342, Marshal of Brittany for Charles de Blois, This statue is at Place Duclos, He was a friend and comrade-in-arms of Duguesclin. During the War of the Succession of Brittany (1341-1365), he warmly embraced the cause of Duke Charles of Blois (who lost the war see post) against Jean de Montfort, who disputed with him the possession of Brittany and was one of the most distinguished heroes in the Battle of La Roche-Derrien in 1347. Charged as captain of the defense of the castle of Josselin, he sent a challenge to the English governor of Ploërmel from which the battle of the Thirty, fought on March 26, 1351 by 30 Bretons against 30 English from which he emerged seriously wounded. In 1354, he went to England to negotiate the release of Charles de Blois and attended, in 1364, the Battle of Auray where he was taken prisoner. In 1365, he was one of the negotiators of the Treaty of Guérande, and the peace made, is confirmed by his title of Marshal of Brittany. He is buried in the abbey of Saint-Magloire de Léhon (Côtes d’Armor dept 22).

Located in the historic heart of the medieval city, the Halles de Dinan called “la Cohue”, It is accessed by different entrances: rue de la Ferronnerie, rue de la Mittrie and Place du Petit Pain . The 245 m² commercial space, which was completely renovated in 2009, remains little known. Sometimes even to locals ! This is now in concertation to do improvement for the visibility of the market Cohue and decision expected any time now, Hope it stays and can get improvement done as needed.

The Pharmacie des Arcades at 4, rue de L’Apport at the corner of rue de L’Apport and rue de l’Horloge, This is undoubtedly one of the oldest houses in Dinan, or even in Brittany, and in all surely the most photographed in the historic city center. But modern times are tilting and the five pharmacies in city center/ downtown Dinan have been merged since 2020 to become one. Indeed, the Place Duclos pharmacy, which is the most strategic square in this medieval town, is the one hosting this merger , The Place Duclos pharmacy has a surface area of more than 200 m², The former house of the pharmacie des Arcades was on sale last I heard.

The Porte Saint-Louis gate at 14 Rue du Château is the youngest of the city gates, the date of 1620 can be read on its exterior face. On the interior side appears at the top the gate ,there was a guardhouse demolished in 1791. It was in ruins and each hurricane carried away flights of slates and structural parts. A concrete platform has replaced the small house. Another guardhouse occupied, at the foot, the site of the house on the right, near the niche made in the wall where perhaps the lantern for the rounds was placed. we find at the entrance a statuette of the Virgin in its niche, it is the continuation of a tradition which put the gates of the cities under the protection of Heavens. Given the date of construction of the Porte Saint-Louis, the dangers of a siege seemed past or henceforth unlikely. The gate then waited for its drawbridge until the end of the 17C. Access to the city from the route de Rennes having become impossible following the construction of the towers of Penthièvre and Coëtquen (15C) and the closing of the Porte du Guichet (end 16C). The Porte Saint-Louis was built in 1620 and restored in 1929. It is still open for vehicular trafic and we tried it of course, superbe !

The city of Dinan on the market Cohue : https://www.dinan.fr/80/les-halles-dinan-la-cohue

The city of Dinan and its history : https://www.dinan.fr/34/histoire-dinan

The Dinan Cap Fréhel tourist office on Dinan: https://www.dinan-capfrehel.com/en/our-destination/not-to-be-missed-any-circumstances/dinan-unmissable-medieval-city-brittany/

There you go folks, another dandy in my lovely Bretagne, this time north of me in the Côtes d’Armor dept 22 and delightful Dinan. Hope you enjoy more curiosities of Dinan and do come on in, worth the detour me think.

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

So I bring you back to tell you again about the wonderful town of Dinan, in the Côtes d’Armor dept 22 of my lovely Bretagne. I am sort of taken some subjects from previous posts very little mention and given them more exposure here. We visited again Dinan, this time a bit more. We went by car of course. Pretty curiosities of Dinan for all!

From the birth of Dinan until the 19C, the western facade of the city was protected by a deep valley that stretched from the current Place Duclos to Bas Bourgneuf. At the bottom of the valley, a small stream was called “Cocherel”. This valley is overlooked by a counterscarp converted into a promenade in the 18C call the Petits Fossés. The garden dates from 1850 and from the 1930s, the upper part of the valley, between Place Duclos and Trou au Chat was urbanized. The Mayor of the time surrounded the beautiful building of the Caisse d’Epargne (today CCAS) with a garden below. Then to develop the rest of the valley between the promenade and rue Chateaubriand. The city bought the De Ferron mansion and its park to install the municipal library there.

The Jardins du Val Cocherel garden or commonly called “the garden of the Little Devils” takes its name from the small stream “Cocherel” which flows at the bottom of the garden, this magnificent park of approximately 4 hectares of greenery is located in the heart of the city of Dinan. You will find slides and swings for children, a covered picnic area, mini-golf, ping-pong tables, animals (fawns, aviaries) a wide variety of flowers as well as a kiosk in the middle from the garden offering cold drinks, ice creams and sandwiches. Below the garden, a pond offers a space of calm and relaxation. Most of this information from the City of Dinan webpage,

The city of Dinan on the garden Cocherel : https://www.dinan.fr/196/jardin-du-val-cocherel

The Chapelle Sainte-Catherine of Dinan was built in the 17C by the Dominicans who arrived in Dinan in 1631, First installed in the Hotel de la Garaye (current Hotel Beaumanoir rue Haute-Voie), they obtained permission in 1664 to establish themselves, to the east of the city, on land belonging to Dominican monks. It became the Hospital Chapel in the 19C and is the subject of an important decorative program that can be found on the apse of the choir and in the transepts. It features a Jesuit-style facade. Don’t miss the collection of statues among the oldest in the churches of Dinan and its monumental painting. These statues are a Saint-Antoine 17-18C, Saint-François d’Assise 16C  in limestone, two bishops 17-18C, Saint-Pierre 16C, and a Christ on the Cross . There is also the oldest and the most exceptional, “The education of the Virgin”, from the beginning of the 14C,another, a limestone Virgin 15C, did not budge from the chapel because it was intact. She had been found in the 1930s, buried in a garden.

The Chapelle Sainte Catherine is a jewel of Counter-Reformation architecture. The interior splendor of the 16C chapel, restored over seven years, dazzles visitors: immaculate walls, polychrome wooden statues, restored stone floor, and at the bottom of the church, a breathtaking trompe-l’oeil. After extensive renovation work it reopened on January 2022 for worship.

The City of Dinan on religious monument so the Chapelle: https://www.dinan.fr/298/les-edifices-religieux

The Dinan Cap Fréhel tourist office on the Chapelle Sainte Catherine : https://www.dinan-capfrehel.com/culture-patrimoine/chapelle-sainte-catherine/

The Centre d’Interpretation et du Patrimoine (CIAP) or the center for interpretation and heritage , Through an interpretation trail and interactive entertainment media, you will have the keys to understanding the history of Dinan and the richness of its heritage. Worth the detour me think.

The Dinan Cap Fréhel tourist office on the Centre : https://www.dinan-capfrehel.com/culture-patrimoine/centre-dinterpretation-de-larchitecture-et-du-patrimoine/

The Théatre des Jacobins is an intercommunal theater hosting various types of shows ,such as theater, concerts, circus, etc. Before being a theater inaugurated in 1966, the Jacobins was a convent founded by monks in 1232. In 1824, the city bought the building which was to undergo a series of architectural modifications throughout the 19C. Initially, the town of Dinan set up various businesses. At the same time, in another part of the convent, several dramatic societies perform. In 1868, the city/town hall decided to close the shopping areas and wanted to transform the place into a casino. On the other hand, it is urgent to undertake the repair work, because the building is deteriorating and is the cause of several serious accidents. The work was interrupted by the Great War or WWI, during which the casino was requisitioned. At the end of the 1920s, the hall hosted operettas whose companies rented the premises. It was therefore necessary to wait until the middle of the 20C for a municipal theater to settle in the premises, this time completely secure and refurbished in 1966.

The Dinan metro area cultural agenda on the Theater of Jacobins : https://saison-culturelle.dinan-agglomeration.fr/Lieux-de-spectacle/Theatre-des-Jacobins-Dinan

There you go folks, another dandy in my lovely Bretagne, this time north of me in the Côtes d’Armor dept 22 and delightful Dinan. Hope you enjoy the curiosities of Dinan and do come on in, worth the detour me think.

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

And of course, a town with a castle is a must for us, so after reading about it, I found a collegue in town who is native of Gourin so he mentioned it again and it had an exposition. Therefore, off we went to see this castle of Tronjoly in Gourin! I am updating this older post on the castle with new text using the old pictures. Hope you enjoy it as I.

The Château of the Traon Joliff or the pretty valley or Tronjoly as it is known today is a nice construction of the 18C that ,we can still see the ruins of the 19C. On the western wall you see the date 1768 as well as on the west façade on a small niche that housed a clock with the inscription my bell sound at an exact hour. The first lords of the castle were the Kergoët  living there from 1426 to 1660; follow by the L’Ollivier , de la Villeneuve Lochrist;  which the Tronjoly branch shows its coat of arms as money in the face of blatter mouths , golden grilles accompany the a trio of cinquefoils of the blatter mouths or the meaning could be money in the face of envy. In 1796, Anne-Jacquette L’Ollivier, wife of Jean Baptiste Rouxel, lord of Lescoët, took advantage of the authorization granted to the families of the emigrants (those returning after the French revolution) to buy the lands seized and sold as national property (by the French revolution)  to buy the castle and its domain back and held it until 1900. It is a Rouxel de Lescoët who restores the eastern wing at the end of the 19C, following a fire. Hermine de Lescoët marries Baron Guy de Salvaing of Boissieu, who dies in 1954 and leaves the castle to his daughter Madeleine. The castle once had a private chapel, a park and a dovecote. The estate is bought by the town of Gourin in 1984.

Its park is now a place of walk for the local folks,(Gourinois) and the castle houses exhibitions of art and crafts;(see post)  the theater of greenery is used in the summer for various cultural events and festivals. To wander through the park, visitors can take the many lanes, bridges spanning picturesque streams and multiple trails. The wooded area of the park has majestic trees, many centuries old, whose name and geographical origin are describe in panels.

The Pays du Roi Morvan tourist office on the castle : https://www.tourismepaysroimorvan.com/en/preparing-your-stay/to-see-and-do/art-history-and-culture/chateau-et-parc-de-tronjoly-1052611

The Pays du Roi Morvan tourist office on the town of Gourin : https://www.tourismepaysroimorvan.com/en/the-local-towns-and-villages/gourin-1010463

The Morbihan dept 56 tourist office on the castle : https://www.morbihan.com/gourin/chateau-de-tronjoly/tabid/12562/offreid/086300b6-13e8-413a-ad4a-e39173fb0f39

There you go folks, enjoy the castle of Tronjoly a wonderful reminder of the history of Brittany and France, come on out west it is better by the Montagne Noirs (black mountains), and enjoy Gourin.

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