Paris1972-Versailles2003

I used to lived not far from here in Brec’h when moved into the Morbihan breton dept 56 in 2011 and later purchase my house in Pluvigner in 2013. However, Auray has charm and we always come here and shop here too. I felled in love with Saint Goustan , a harbor district of Auray. I have several posts on the town ,which was my adminstrative central back then. Therefore, I just want to give you another glance of this wonderful harbor from my latest stopover yesterday. Hope you enjoy it as I.

Auray is the historical town where Benjamin Franklin landed to asked help from king Louis XVI for the American independance war with England, and he got it. Marquis de Lafayette but also Marquis de la Roulie of Fougéres, and General Rochembau and Admiral Grace and his 29 French Caribbean flotilla to block Yorktown. And so on….Gen Pershing later said, Lafayette , we are here in WWI. And so on… Now see the wonderful Quai Franklin ,and the many restos as wel as the Relais Franklin where he stayed one night before continuing to Versailles to see Louis XVI.

The Auray River is a ria that begins at Auray, empties into the Gulf of Morbihan and is navigable. The length of its water course is 56.3 km ! The Auray river or the ria du Loch, another name given to the river. But is it really a river or already the Little Sea? Indeed, the degree of salinity is such that oysters can live on the pillars of the Pont d’Auray , a stone bridge of only 35 meters long in Saint Goustan.

The first castle of Auray whose presence is mentioned in 1096 protects a ford on the Loc’h river, and the port of Saint-Goustan. The latter is rebuilt from 1201 for Duke Arthur I of Brittany. The castle of Auray was then the place of stay of several dukes of Brittany. Here ,the battle of Auray took place on September 29, 1364, it is the last battle of the War of the Succession of Brittany, a regional war which is part of the Franco-English rivalry of the Hundred Years War. It opposes an Anglo-Breton army under the orders of Jean III de Montfort to a Franco-Breton force supporting the party of Charles de Blois., For info Jean won and became Jean VI duke of Brittany.

The castle of Auray was no longer maintained and falls into ruin. Its moat was auctioned after 1546, following the decision of King François I to cede all the vacant lands of the Duchy of Brittany, and the demolition of the ruins was decided by King Henry II, but the king’s prosecutor imposed that the wall on the river side is preserved, and it still exists. Its stones were given in 1558 by the king to the monks of the Sainte-Croix Abbey of Quimperlé, owner of the island of Belle-Île, to build the fort Palais in order to ensure its protection against the English pirates, the rest of the materials were auctioned in 1559.

I always felled in love with this tower living quarter in a vast park by Venelle du Foresto street in the upper town overlooking Saint Goustan, Not much info on it but still very nice would love to know more, maybe live there ! Anyway , here for the memories and the good wishes of Saint Goustan, Auray,

The city of Auray on its heritage see circuit Saint Goustan : https://www.auray.fr/Ma-ville/Patrimoine/Les-monuments-historiques

The local Bay of Quiberon tourist office on Saint Goustan : https://www.baiedequiberon.co.uk/the-port-of-saint-goustan-in-auray

The Bateaux pleasure boating magazine on Saint Goustan : https://www.bateaux.com/plaisance/port/auray-saint-goustan-REF5-qqiRkY1gM

There you go folks, Saint Goustan is a lovely small district nestled below port of the City of Auray ; sitting between the regional government powerhouses of Lorient and Vannes as well as down from my town of Pluvigner. Again,hope you enjoy this post on nice historical beautiful Morbihan,and lovely Bretagne and my belle France ; a wonderful best combination in the world ! Me think,,,.

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 heard about this town and passed by it, never in, until now. Always amazing finds in my belle France. The town was the end of my line on this episode of my road warrior ways ! Let me tell you a bit about the Saint Guillaume Church of Pontchâteau !!

The town of Pont-Château is located in the department 44 of Loire-Atlantique in the Pays de la Loire region. It is 19 km from La Roche-Bernard (Morbihan 56 ), 30 km from Redon (Ille-et-Vilaine 35), 25 km from Saint-Nazaire , 53 km from Nantes.(44), and 93 km from my house. Pont Château is located at a major crossroads of the RN 165, Nantes-Vannes-Brest expressway, and the D 773, Saint-Nazaire-Redon road. Pontchâteau is also on the railway line from Savenay to Landerneau and is served by a train station.

I found it hard to find information on this huge wonderful church and cannot undertand it, Not even in my library is much about it yet it is impressive, After visiting Saint Martin Church which as you can see in my other post was closed, i look up Saint Guillaume Church and was pleasantly surprise.

The Saint Guillaume Church was built late 19C. This church was detached from the parish of Pontchâteau in 1860 and replaced an old chapel sold and destroyed during the French revolution.  Built in the neo-Romanesque style, it has a transept and a high bell tower-porch surmounted by a stone miter.

In the 11C, abandoning the site of the Écrin, the Lords of Pont facilitated the construction of residences not far from their castle, on the banks of the Brivet river. The bridge over the Brivet was guarded by the baron’s castle. At the foot of the castle, traders come to shelter their wares from robbers. The city is born, center of exchanges between the high country of the lands of the plateau and the marshes of the low country of the Brière: bridge and castle, nucleus of origin, hence its name. At the same time, the lords of Le Pont founded a priory with the monks of Marmoutier. Pontchâteau was, in the Middle Ages, on one of the roads to Santiago de Compostela.

Webpages for references on Pontchâteau:

The local Pont Château Saint Gildas des Bois tourist office on its other heritage: https://www.pontchateau-saintgildasdesbois.com/histoire-et-patrimoine.html

The town of Pont-Château on its other heritage : https://www.pontchateau.fr/histoire-et-patrimoine/

There you go folks, a dandy of a town, this one is to be back eventually to seek more details. We were on our road warrior mode so just saw couple monuments and went on to other towns, see posts. Hope you enjoy this post on the Saint Guillaume Church of Pontchâteau as I.

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