Paris1972-Versailles2003

I have done several posts on pretty quant Guérande but would like to update this older post on an unique monument of the city. I like to tell you a bit about the Moulin de Crémeur of Guérande ! The Moulin de Crémeur mill, aka as the Diable or Devil’s mill, is a windmill located in the town of Guérande, in the department 44 of Loire-Atlantique,in the region of Pays de la Loire. It dates from the end of the 15C and had to stop at the end of the 18C. It was restored in the 1980s. Hope you enjoy the post as I.

The Moulin de Crémeur mill is known mainly for its legend which earned it the nickname “Devil’s Mill”. This legend says that Yves Kerbic wanted to build a mill but he was too poor. The passing devil offered him a pact: “I will build you your mill in one night if you give me your soul”. Yves consented and the Devil set to work all night. At the morning angelus, the last stone was missing. The cunning miller hastened to place a statuette of the Virgin in a niche and made the sign of the cross. Full of rage, Satan stepped back: “You stole from me! He yelled and disappeared in a whirlwind of fire ..so says the legend. One of the windows retains the winch brackets and, in a recessed niche, takes place a statuette of the Virgin and Child, the same, no doubt, that frightened the devil.

A 15C Manor ,era of Anne of Brittany (it is rumored that the Father of Anne of Brittany would have slept at the Manor)… The Counts of Carné, Nobles from Guérande , reside at the Manor. The property also had a mill and is linked to the fortified town of Guérande by an underground passage. The mill has a masonry in granite, presents a ground floor with an overflowing base. The corbelling supporting the floor is decorated with three large projecting moldings. One of the windows retains the consoles of the winch , The roof, restored, is made of chestnut shingles: The motor shaft carries the two rods equipped with their saws which received the sails. On the other hand, the brake wurm and perch are retained.

You can see the Crémeur or Diable mill or moulin on the road  Route de Herbignac  or D274 direction Guérande ,just before the last traffic circle entering Guérande on your left hand side. As with everything today, you need to check in advance if open. They had installed a créperie resto there since 2008 but is now closed.

The (FFAM) Fédération Française des Associations de sauvegarde des Moulins or French Federation of Associations for the preservation of windmills on the Moulin de Crémeur: https://www.moulinsdefrance.org/fiches-moulins/moulin-du-diable-ou-de-cremeur-guerande/

The city of Guérande and its heritage: https://www.ville-guerande.fr/pratique-vos-demarches/tourisme-et-decouvertes/visiter-la-cite-medievale

The local La Baule-Guérande tourist office on Guérande: https://www.labaule-guerande.com/bureau-d-information-touristique-de-guerande.html

There you go folks, another dandy in my belle France. This one going south to old Bretagne in a wonderful medieval fortified city of Guérande is a must while in the area. The Moulin de Crémeur is worth the detour .Hope it helps your plans and enjoy the post as I

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

I am bringing back many memorable moments in our life’s travels. The beauty of reliving these trip is worth it. I like to tell you more with new old pictures found on the Collegiate Church of Saint Aubin in Guérande !!!

The wonderful fortified town of Guérande, in old Bretagne, now Loire-Atlantique dept 44 of the Pays de la Loire region.  The town and things to see has been written several times in my blog and it is worth visiting as a whole.  A wonderful place to visit while in town or nearby will be the church. Hope you enjoy the post as I.

The Collegiate Church of Saint Aubin is located in the heart of the city, bordered by squares. Archeology attests to burials around the building, as a cemetery once extended to the north. The church adopts an elongated plan with an ambulatory choir. The whole is built of granite stone under a slate roof with long sides. The south wall is marked by a flamboyant Gothic style porch restored in 1884. To the south, an exterior pulpit served by a spiral staircase holds the attention. Only a few comparable examples are known from the 15C in Brittany. The west portal with a trumeau is surmounted by a large tracery window ending in a triangular gable. A corbelled turret forming a campanile surmounts the facade bristling with polygonal stone spiers.

Inside, the 5 bay nave is flanked by side aisles. A transept separates the nave from the choir. The latter, 5 bays long, ends with a canted bedside. An ambulatory opens onto several chapels and a crypt or lower chapel. Large arcades separate the nave from the side aisles. They rest on an alternation of large cylindrical piles and pillars made up of eight small columns. The twenty-two historiated scenes that make up the decoration of the capitals of the nave are spread over the last three northern pillars The choir, 27 meters long. has an ambulatory distributing several chapels ,The crypt or lower chapel, against the arm of the transept, adopts a rectangular plan. It is covered with vaults with four quarters radiating around a central pillar.

In the 16C, installation of the stained glass windows of Saint Aubin and Saint Julien, then in the 17C, installation of the large stained glass window of the Coronation of the Virgin, in the center of the apse and finally, the furniture of the church: stalls, altars, rood screen (removed in 1804, and entered the National Museum of the Middle Ages, Paris) and since its central door is deposited in the Museum of the Porte Saint-Michel, and development of the Sacristy.

The city of Guérande on its heritage:https://www.ville-guerande.fr/pratique-vos-demarches/tourisme-et-decouvertes/visiter-la-cite-medievale/cite-medievale

The La Baule-Guérande tourist office on the Church : https://www.labaule-guerande.com/visite-collegiale-saint-aubin-guerande.html

There you go folks,another jewel of my belle France of course. Where else we can keep so much treasury for the world to see even after devastating wars from 1789 onwards! France a moveable feast ! Come to see the Collegiate Church of Saint Aubin and enjoy the fortified town of Guérande !!!

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