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The castle of Auray was no longer maintained and falls into ruin.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 !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 
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