Paris1972-Versailles2003

Let me bring back some memories of my work. A while back, hard to remember dates, a collegue working in my dept told me he was from Elven? huh? He show me the map and told me there was nice things to see and a very good restaurant (see post). Needless to say we as a family went and true to local knowledge it was nice. Later our CFO decided to have a party for the group and voilà the restaurant was chosen again, and again it was wonderful. I had a post with all but decided to split into the nice monuments of little pretty Elven, therefore, did a post on the church, the chapel and now the fortress. Hope you enjoy this post on the Forteresse de Largoët of Elven !!!

We went looking for the fortress tower of Largoët, built in the 13-16C and residence of the Lords of Largoët, and most notable here lived  Jean IV de Rieux, tutor of the duchess Anne de Bretagne ( and queen of France twice!). The fortress was mentioned first in 1020! Here between 1474 and 1476 , this Jean IV lord of Rieux held prisioner Henri Tudor duke of Richmond and future king Henry VII of England. In 1490, king Charles VIII demolished the castle but it was later restored under Anne de Bretagne. Nicolas Fouquet (vaux le vicomte non fame) purchased the castle in 1656 and after his death it is sold to Michel de Trémeurec and since the castle was never sold and remains in the family that hold it today. On November 30 1799 there was a big battle here during the war of the west against the French revolution by the local Chouans known as the battle of the Tour d’Elven.

The ruins of Largoët retain an imposing appearance, thanks in particular to the octagonal keep from the end of the 14C. At 45 meters high, it is one of the highest in France, Its walls are 6 meters thick and exceed 9 meters in some places. The entrance was on the ground floor through a door which was preceded by a drawbridge spanning a ditch. This door opens into a 7 meter long corridor that runs through the entire thickness of the wall and leads to a room of approximately 40 m2. On each of the upper floors, there was an identical room. On the first floor, you can still see the room where Henry Tudor stayed. Two spiral staircases are caught in the thickness of the walls. One, starting from the ground floor and intended for lordship use and the reception of distinguished visitors, serves all levels up to the summit walkway. A second, narrower spiral staircase, located in the opposite wall, for more private use, starts from the first floor(2^nd US), and leads to the upper floors. On the third floor (4^th US) of the master tower, there is a chapel, flanked by two oratories, built into the thickness of the wall, with a stoup and a hagioscope which allowed worship to be followed from one of the oratories.

In addition to this colossal edifice, Largoët has a four-story round tower from the 15C, pierced by gunboats on the first level, and surmounted by a hexagonal building. It was converted in the 20C as a hunting lodge; a 15C châtelet, marking the entrance to the fortress, backing onto another 13C construction; the remains of the surrounding wall, a moat that was drained in the summer and a pond dug at the beginning of the 20C to replace impenetrable marshes; the ruins of a construction called Glacière or freezer which was intended to store food; the entrance to an underground refuge,consisting of two rooms but with no other exit. It would therefore not be the entrance to the underground which allowed to reach the village. Works in the inn of the Lion d’Or (see post), in the center of Elven, would have brought to light a gallery but without nothing could be verified as to the final destination of this gallery.

In the cinema, the site served as a setting for Lancelot du Lac or Les Chouans as well as in Le Monocle noir (1961).

The official Forteresse de Largoët : https://www.largoet.com/

The town of Elven on the fortress: https://www.elven.bzh/contacts/forteresse-de-largoet/

There you go folks, feel better now to give credit to this wonderful monument in little pretty Elven near me just 44 km still in my beautiful Morbihan. Hope you enjoy the post on the Fortress Dungeon of Largoët as I.

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

Again back in my road warrior mode, I have come back to familiar territory with new pictures.  Back in my beautiful Morbihan and its small picturesques towns on the off the beaten path. I have written on Trédion before on these sights but never enough which ,also, allows me to find missing information. Hope you enjoy the post on the Saint Martin Church ,and Castle of Trédion !!

The town of Trédion attested in the form Treduchum in 1121, Tréduihon in the 12C. Trédion is an ancient truce of the parish of Elven, of which it was detached in 1136.  At this truce was added the one of Aguénéac to create a new parish in 1820.  In 1833, the former trier of Trédion and Aguénéac were separated from the town of Elven to form the new town of Trédion from 1836. The town of Trédion is 7 km from Elven, 23 km from Vannes, and just 37 km from my house.

The Church of St. Martin new church b. 1870-1873. It was entrusted from the year 1000 to the Benedictines of the Mont-Saint-Michel. The Romanesque building was largely rebuilt during the second half of the 16C. The sand pits and pillar of the pulpit bear the dates of 1562, 1573 and 1577. The Church consisted in 1860 of a nave and two collateral in large plains and three Romanesque apses; the main apse was vaulted with stones and illuminated by stained glass windows in loopholes, it was preceded by a triumphal arch. An elegant bell tower built in two bells stood between the nave and the choir. The nave of the 2nd half of the 16C preserves in the south a door and a stained glass window of the 15C. The new bell tower was erected between 1869 and 1872. The current Choir is probably contemporary from the bell tower steeple in 1869. The vault of the new choir, joins that of the nave in 1895. Two additional stained glass windows are installed in 1910.

The Trédion castle originally built around 1350 to replace an old manor. It was rebuilt in 1854. This is the former property or hunting meeting place of the lords of Largoët. Successive property of the families of Malestroit, Rieux (1471), Nesle and Coligny (1567), Lorraine-Elbeuf (1605), Fouquet (1683), Lantivy (1709). The castle was acquired on July 21, 1834 by Count Hippolyte du Fresne de Virel. The Comtesse de Rougé sold it in 1977-1978 to Mr. Guy Turpin who opened a hotel and a leisure complex there. King Francis I stayed at the castle on August 31, 1518. Catherine de Medici would have stayed there in 1570 or 1567, with a view to reconciliation with the Colignys of Argoët, who were Protestants.

The main areas in the garden to look at are the Clos du Roy  (The King’s field) a French style garden. The Jardin de curé (The priest’s garden) , traditional garden.  The Jardin des druides  (The druids’ garden); fountains, bridge of secrets, chalices, the Druid’s tree, the fine gold standing stone in the middle of 3 cascading ponds, etc. ,and the Jardin des Korrigans  (The Korrigans garden) and the legend of the hidden treasure. 

The city of Trédion on its religious monuments including the church: http://www.tredion.fr/decouvrir-tredion/la-commune-de-tredion#Patrimoine%20religieux

The official Château de Trédion : https://www.chateau-tredion.fr/

The Gulf of Morbihan tourist office on Trédion: https://www.golfedumorbihan.bzh/explorer-vannes/decouvrir-vannes/golfe-morbihan/landes-de-lanvaux/tredion/

There you go folks, now I feel better showcasing sights from these small towns such as Trédion worth a detour for the curious visitor off the beaten path ways of my beautiful Morbihan. Hope you enjoy the combo of the Saint Martin Church and the Castle of Trédion as I.

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

So ,again, and never stops , on my road warrior ways in my beautiful Morbihan, I come to a familiar place. These are the small picturesques towns on the off the beaten path we love. I will take you back to Saint Gravé. This is a new visit with new pictures, see my other post on the town. The town of Saint Gravé is about 78 km from my house, Hope you enjoy this post on the Back to the Church Saint Denis of Saint Gravé !

The Church Saint-Denis built by 1901 replaces an old church destroyed in the late 19C. The old church remains only part of the Sainte-Anne Chapel, dated 1864. The Church houses a polychrome wooden statue of Santa Gravida or Our Lady of Advent. It retains a processional cross in silver of 1664. The parish church, under the term of Saint Denis the Areopagita, preserves some remnants of an ancient church south of the nave. There are also two ogival stained glass windows with flaming mullets, impellers and four leaf clover . The chapels once wore the names of Cancoet, the Brossais and the Saulaye. Today they are dedicated to the Rosary, to St. Anne and to the Sacred Heart.

The current Saint Denis Church was almost entirely rebuilt in 1901. It was consecrated on October 23, 1901. The interior facing in white Poitou stones provides great clarity. Of the first church of the 15C, only a few stones remain at the bottom of the nave and of the 19C, the Sainte Anne Chapel. Rebuilt for the first time in the 16C, enlarged for the Brotherhood of the Rosary in the 17C, and despite a new portal in the middle of the 19C, the church fell into ruins at the end of the 19C.

Until the French revolution, the dead were buried in the nave of the church, then in the cemetery which surrounded it. In 1876, the cemetery was moved to a place called “la Grand-Mare” at the entrance to the town, near the roundabout, where the pillars and the cross had been placed. The church is dedicated to Saint Denis. Inside, a statue represents him as a bishop. First bishop of Paris, Denis was beheaded in 119. Legend has it that he carried his head for a thousand steps to give it to a Christian. His relics are kept in a chest. See the Basilica St Denis north of Paris.

Also in the Saint Denis Church, a polychrome wooden statue from the 16C represents a pregnant Virgin (pregnant) but holding the child Jesus. The name of the town, Saint Gravé, comes from Santa Gravida also called Our Lady of Advent. The statue would have been brought back from the fountain to the south of the town.

The city of Saint Gravé on its heritage: https://www.saint-grave.fr/decouvrir/histoire-et-patrimoine/

The Rochefort en Terre tourist office on Saint Gravé: https://www.rochefortenterre-tourisme.bzh/sorganiser/nos-villes-et-villages/saint-grave/

There you go folks, now I feel better telling you about these small gems in my beautiful countryside of Morbihan in my lovely Bretagne. Little Saint Gravé is quant, pretty and if combine with a visit to the Church Saint Denis is a perfect getaway by car of course. Hope you enjoy the post as I.

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

So lets stay on the road shall we!  My newest road warrior trips in my beautiful Morbihan took me to a dear town of mine. This is nice quant Saint Avé in my beautiful Morbihan and lovely Bretagne of my belle France. This is the town I passed to work every day for 9 years, so know it very well even if as lately been a while not back. However, back I did and memory flashes came in strong  to see the Chapelle Notre Dame du Loc of Saint Avé again; see my other posts on the town in my blog. Hope you enjoy this post as I.

The Chapel Saint-Avé, ,better known as the Chapelle Notre-Dame du Loch, was built from 1475 to 1494. In the form of a Latin cross topped by a slate steeple, it has a main façade adorned with a beautiful portal with arches flanked by two buttresses with pinnacles and topped by a large oculus which, despite transformations, retains its medieval style authentic. It is surrounded by a paddock, where a fountain and a calvary are erected.

With its enclosure, its Gothic facade, its fountain and its magnificent Calvary, this Notre-Dame-du-Loc Chapel in Saint-Avé , has everything from the Breton postcard. it replaces another 11C or 12C chapel dedicated to Locmaria-Saint-Eve. The roof and the paneling of the vault were redone in 1689 and in 1791 a bell was added. 1832 was the year of a new wooden altar to replace the original stone one. The end of the 19C saw the frame redone as well as the drilling of two windows to give more light to the nave. In 1913, a major series of works gave the chapel the appearance we know today. The whole was blessed on September 21, 1913. An identical restoration took place between 2010 and 2012 and the blessing was made on May 5, 2013.

In front of the chapel is a stone Calvary from the same period as the chapel. In the quatrefoil occupying the center of the Cross, we see on one side Christ between the Blessed Virgin and Saint John, and on the other Mary holding the ‘Child Jesus surrounded by four angels, three of whom swing censers, while the fourth plays the biniou, a charming and truly Breton scene. On the pedestal, to the west, an angel bears a legend at the end of a staff—no doubt meaning the Ave Maria—between the angel and the Virgin we see lilies. It is the Annunciation.

The Fountain of Notre-Dame du Loc is a vast granite fountain dates from the same period as the chapel .Access to the staircase leading to the basin is closed by a gate and the niche which once housed a statuette of Notre-Dame is empty today.

The city of St Avé on its must to see: https://www.saint-ave.bzh/les-incontournables/

The parish of St Avé on the Chapelle Notre Dame du Loch:  https://www.paroissesaintave.fr/chapelle-notre-dame-du-loch/

There you go folks, another dandy road warrior ride into my beautiful Morbihan. Saint Avé will be memorable, not for nothing passed by it and these monuments for 9 years !!! they are missed now in my retirement. Of course, Saint Avé is only 29 km from my house ! Hope you enjoy this latest post on the nice Chapelle Notre Dame du Loc !!

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