Paris1972-Versailles2003

And continuing on my road warrior mode this time back in my lovely Bretagne ; but again taking you and me to a new town, Amazing my belle France, beauties all over, I had a long road trip and on the way back passed by this little town and decided to slow down even stop for a few souvenirs of my passage in my life’s travels, This is a bit on the curiosities of Guipry-Messac !

The town of Guipry-Messac is in the department 35 of Ille-et-Vilaine, in my lovely region of Bretagne, It is 40 km from Rennes and Redon, Also, 127 km from my house, The town was officially created in 2016 following the merger of the localities of Guipry (3000 inhabitants) and Messac (3750 inhabitants) , Guipry is mentioned for the first time in the 7C under the forms Wicbry around 710, and Messac is attested as Metiacus in 843 on a map of Redon.

The Saint-Pierre Church in Guipry can be the starting point for a circuit in the form of discovery of the notable buildings of the City , i was just passing by and stop briefly for a picture, It was built in the 12C in a Romanesque style, it was remodeled in the 15-16C with the addition of side naves. There is an old Romanesque door with arched covings, formerly the main portal and then equipped with a porch. In the 18C, the construction of a tower ,supporting the bell tower modified access with a porch built in 1760. A 17C altarpiece, in the choir, inspired by a work by Rubens, stained glass windows made during the interwar period including a guillotined refractory priest, are to be observed. It was also in the 1930s that the Romanesque style of the pillars of the nave was redesigned. The primitive church is attested from 1152 , dedicated to Saint Peter, the church of Guipry has three naves, a large part of which is of Romanesque architecture. Finally, the church ends with a straight chevet supported by three flat buttresses and formerly openworked with two windows in the same Romanesque style. The initial plan has been maintained until today, it is one of the few cases preserved in the department of Ille-et-Vilaine of rural Romanesque churches with three naves.

The imposing Moulin de Perrais mill (18C),which still houses a flint millstone or the hermitage, a cell building offered to a hermit by the local lord in the 18C. We do not know its date of construction but the irregular distribution of its openings and the type of interior staircase allow us to suggest the 18C. The mill, 10 meters high, measures 5.30 meters in external diameter. The roof is made of shingles. It is divided into four floors, distributed by a winding staircase and a miller’s ladder. Each floor is marked by a decrease in the thickness of the wall. The mechanism partly in place is very deteriorated. There remains a flint wheel. We saw this over the Vilaine river pont des Deux Rives arriving to town on the road D772.

Other things to see if more time me think are in Messac, the Church of Saint-Abdon-et-Saint-Sennen also has Roman foundations. The Chapel of Boeuvres, in schist, dating from the 17C and restored, and that of Vautenet, built in the 17C, The lordship castle of Boeuvres (17C, rebuilt at the beginning of the 20C), that of castle of Pommerais (17C), or the manor du Vautenet (16C, restored) are worth a look ,The Temple of Coëfferie former chapel of a Templar commandery built in 1217, On Guipry The Château des Champs , built in the 17C and considerably enlarged in the 18C.

The town of Guipry-Messac on its heritage : https://www.guipry-messac.fr/listes/histoire-et-patrimoine/

There you go folks, another dandy find in my road warrior ways of my lovely Bretagne and my belle France, It always amaze me of the beauties of the road, This was a first time passing and nice looking little town, worth coming back for more, Hope you enjoy the post on the curiosities of Guipry-Messac as I,

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

I am on my road warrior mode again, going to see my Bretagne old and new. This time went over into the old Brittany of the Loire Atlantique dept 44 in the new region of Pays de la Loire. I ,again, came by as a surprise run in my road warrior mode and another dot in my Travel/World map on the town of Guenrouët, and of course, needed to take a look. Always amazing finds in my belle France. The town is about 107 km from my house. Let me tell you a bit about the Saint Hermeland Church of Guenrouët !

The town of Guenrouët is located 20 km from Redon ; located on the bank of the Nantes-Brest canal, the town is geared towards green tourism.  The parish of Guenrouët would have been founded at the end of the 9C by Alain the Great who would have built a castle, at the time of the Norman invasions, at a place called “Se”, that is to say currently, in Saint-Clair, a few hundred meters away, opposite the town of Guenrouët, on the rock overlooking the Isac on the Plessé side. In the 19C, we could still make out an irregular pentagon delimiting the location of the towers which occupied the four corners. He often came to live in this castle where he even received the son of the King of France, Charles the Bald. Three charters ,dated from the beginning of the 10C of Alain le Grand, King of Brittany, refer to the castle as “Castrum Seium”. This castle had been devastated and destroyed by the Normans who had settled at the mouth of the Loire. Some historians believe that “Se” was originally a Roman camp which commanded the passage of the Isac river. But the parish of Guenrouët only appears around the 11C, in writings such as the Cartularies of the Monasteries. The town is part of historic Brittany. The construction of the canal from Nantes to Brest, under the July Monarchy, promotes the development of the town.

The Saint-Hermeland Church built over a period from 1896-1910-1951. The current church replaces an old 11C church. The first stone of the current church was laid in 1892. Work on the church was completed in 1896. The bell tower was built later, in 1910. The pulpit dates from 1909 and includes sculptures representing the four evangelists. The stained glass windows, representing “Saint Clair”, “The Passion of Christ” and “the Virgin”, date from around 1951. The coat of arms of the lords of Guenrouët, Pierre du Cambout, was once in the chapel of Saint-Justin forming part of the parish church on a pyramid that a roofer from the village of Longle was responsible for destroying on June 30, 1790. Boxes in the shape of a heart containing the ashes of Jacques and Armand du Cambout had been updated and sent to the chapel of the Château de Carheil at the request of Anne Françoise Charette de Briord, wife of Pierre du Cambout The church has stained glass windows illuminating the choir and tell, in their own way, the pocket of Saint-Nazaire in the town of Guenrouët.

This is my best translation from the City on the Saint Hermeland Church events.  Little is known about its architecture, except that it was the object, mainly at the end of the 17-18C, of several enlargements. During the French revolution, the Saint Hermeland Church served as a stable for the horses of the Republican Guard. During this period, acts of vandalism required, on the orders of the Government of the time, the bells to be sent to Savenay to be melted down and minted there. The clergy continued to worship underground in the surrounding countryside. At the end of the revolution, the local clergy found their church in very poor condition, but which would have to welcome the faithful for a century. In 1823, the church found a first bell. In 1841, expansion work took place. On February 17, 1890, the Municipal Council deliberated on the need to build a new church because the population at the time was around 3000 inhabitants. the project was approved on June 23, 1891. Work began in April 1892 with the blessing of the first stone, The structural work will not be finished until 1893. The framework and the roof will be finished in April 1894. work will not resume until September 1895 , The construction work will be finished at the end of March 1896 while the great altar will be put in place to the first communion of May 17, 1896. From May 1902 to January 1904, installation of stained glass windows as well as installation of wrought iron grilles surrounding the choir. The Pulpit and the Stalls surrounding the choir will be made in 1900. In 1910, construction of the bell tower with a height of 55 meters, four bells will be installed there. In September 1939, they sounded the tocsin announcing the start of WWII. From 1939 to August 1944, Guenrouët will not be too disturbed by the war and the occupation, but it will not be the same from September 1944. Following the landings of June 1944, the Allied troops, anxious to liberate the France, and in order to leave the occupier on the Atlantic, establish a pocket whose natural border was the Nantes-Brest canal. Then began a series of daily bombardments, the Saint Hermeland Church and its bell tower being an ideal target for the shootings of the American army and the resistance fighters. On December 7, 1944, at 9h25 , the bell tower was knocked down and when it fell, it crushed the stone vault. Three of the four bells were broken and all of the stained glass windows shattered.

Other interesting things to see here me think are:

The Nantes to Brest Canal: calm, greenery and a calm river. The Church of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (19C) a church of modern construction and its Stations of the Cross made with a fork. the Château du Greny, and the Château de Bogdelin as well as the  Chapel of Cougou.

The City of Guenrouët on the Saint Hermeland Church : https://www.guenrouet.fr/l%c2%92eglise-st-hermeland-de-guenrouet/

There you go folks, another dandy road warrior run in old Brittany, The finds are awesome and the drive into these marvels superbe ! I made one new star in Guenrouët and the  ! Hope you enjoy the post as I

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

I am on my road warrior mode again, going to see my Bretagne old and new. This time went over into the old Brittany of the Loire Atlantique dept 44 in the new region of Pays de la Loire. I passed by it and voilà another nice surprise to see the church so we stop for a closer look and another dot in my France/World map.  Always amazing finds in my belle France. The town is about 133 km from my house. Let me tell you a bit about the former Saint Jean church of Lusanger !

The town of Lusanger is located about 60 km from Nantes ,and is a town of only 1058 inhabitants! The former Saint-Jean church was built between the 12C and 15C, it is located in the old town of Lusanger. The frescoes still visible today date from the 15C and the framework from the 16C. It is currently used as a barn. This church, abandoned in the middle of the 19C, is a rare example of rural religious architecture after modern reconstructions. Of medieval origin, it is distinguished by its 16C truss framework and its painted decorations (15C and 18C).

It is now converted into a barn !! It trick me too !!  It is originally a simple chapel. The chapel would have been enlarged and erected as a parish church in the 16C. The frescoes date from the 15C. Inside, on the bedside wall remains a 17C  painting representing a canopy.  The wall on the side of the choir is pierced by a small trefoil window characteristic of the 12-13C. Until the French revolution, the parish of Lusanger was attached to that of Derval(see post).

Other things to see here with more time are

The Pierre du Hochu, also called Pierre de la Bergere, is a menhir.  The alignment of the Grée Galot, also called the alignment of the Cross of the White Stones or the alignment of the Elm from above, is a megalithic alignment.  The menhir du Tertre Gicquel, also called the Cohardais menhir.

The town of Lusanger: http://www.mairie-lusanger.fr/fr/plan-de-ville

There you go folks, a dandy small town, this one passed by on the road D 775 in my best road warrior mode. We were on our road warrior mode so just saw what look like a church but now unused and went for a look before continue my ways on to other towns, see posts. Hope you enjoy this post on the former Saint Jean church as I.

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