Paris1972-Versailles2003

Let me tell you more about a wonderful castle in my lovely Bretagne just at the entrance of it. In our road warrior trips we have been to Vitré and have several posts on it in my blog. This time will just love to tell you more about the Château de Vitré!! Hope you enjoy it as I.

 Again, written already a post on the castle but found me new older pictures in my vault and feel deserves to be in my blog. In our quest to take advantage of living here and with so much history and architecture around we came back to Vitré , and it was grand again, I have plenty on it but will try to give some more information on the Vitré castle.  At the beginning of the year 1000, a feudal motte stood on the site of the current Sainte-Croix Church (see post). In the years 1060-1070, Robert I built a first stone castle on the current rocky promontory. The Romanesque portal of this first fortress is still visible in the courtyard of the castle. During the first half of the 13C, André III, Baron de Vitré, began building around the first castle the current fortress on a triangular plan, flanked by circular towers at each corner and semi-circular towers on the curtain walls Two centuries more later or late 14C early 15C, the construction of the gatehouse and the elevation of the Saint-Laurent tower and the Madeleine tower gave the fortress the silhouette it still has today , Inside see the monumental tomb of Gui X (preserved in the museum of the castle) and the bell tower of the collegiate church of the Madeleine of the castle ,built around 1380.

The Vitre castle was abandoned in the 17C and 18C, confiscated as national property during the French revolution, it was partly transformed into a prison in the 19C. Several restoration campaigns were needed before experiencing a new lease of life with the opening in 1877 of the Castle Museum. The latter now offers a route through the Tour Saint-Laurent, the Tour de l’Argenterie and the Tour de l’Oratoire with eight rooms that will transport you from the 15C to the 19C between statues, furniture, clothing and portraits. At the beginning of the 20C, the City/town hall of Vitré took place in a neo-Gothic style building restoring the old stately home of the 15C inside castle grounds !

For the services rendered to the crown of France during the Hundred Years War by the lords of Vitré-Laval, King Charles VII of France erected Laval into a county in 1429. His successor, Louis XI gave the collar of Saint-Michel, an honorary distinction, to the brothers, Gui XIV, André de Laval-Lohéac and Louis de Laval-Châtillon. In the 17C, during the reign of Louis XIV, the Vitré castle hosted eight meetings of the Estates General of Brittany. In 1794, during the French revolutionary period, the Prince of Talmont, son of the last Baron de Vitré, was guillotined. The Vitre castle, seized, is then transformed into barracks, the tower of the Madeleine into a fodder store. In 1820, the castle threatens to fall into ruin and the La Trémoille family sold it to the department and the City of Vitré, Finally, the prison will not be replaced by the current City/town hall until 1902.

The official Castle of Vitré: https://chateau.vitre.bzh/en/home/

The Vitré tourist office on the castle:https://www.bretagne-vitre.com/en/essential-window/the-glass-castle/

The city of Vitré on its heritage: https://www.mairie-vitre.com/-Town-of-Art-and-History-label-.html

There you go folks, an enchanting castle right in city center Vitré on the frontiers of my lovely Bretagne, and worth the detour. It was a very nice visit by us there, and sure worth a return. Hope you enjoy the post on the Château de Vitré as I

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

Well, had this monument mix with another post and felled should have a post of its own, Therefore, here is my take on the old Jacobin convent , now Convention center. Rennes is in the Ille et Vilaine dept 35 of my lovely region of Bretagne. Hope you enjoy this post as I.  Always lovely to visit the capital and historical capital of Bretagne , This is an unique historical building often overlook for that as it is today the Convention center of Rennes! The Jacobins convent has gone thru a wonderful transformation to preserve it.

The Jacobins convent, also named old convent of Bonne-Nouvelle  , is an old religious building and an old barracks, located in Rue Saint Malo and Place Sainte Anne. It includes an abbey, a cloister and conventual buildings. In 2018, the building became the  Convention Center of Rennes Métropole.  It is exactly on Place Sainte-Anne, along the rue d’échange and Rue Saint-Malo . The latter separates the Jacobins convent from the Basilica of Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle (see post).  The Convention Center is composed of a large François Regis Hutin auditorium, with 1000 seats; an auditorium with 500 seats; a 300-seat auditorium in the old church area ; 25 committee rooms; and 3,000 m2 of exhibition or restoration space, specially around the cloister. In the process the Convent is save! The new Convention Center is inaugurated on January 10, 2018 by a concert given by the Symphonic Orchestra of Brittany/Bretagne in the large auditorium.

The old building is built in the classic way for a convent: a cloister consisting of a central garden surrounded by a gallery. This cloister provides access to several rooms used for monastic life: convent church , chapter house , refectory , etc. Less common is the presence of a chapel of Bonne-Nouvelle in the corner of the cloister garden as well as a gallery of the crypts in the cloister alongside the church. Two courtyards line the main building. These are closed by a gate each. Next to it is the prior’s dwelling dating from the 16C.

The research allows experts to find under the convent the expected trace of the intersection of the cardo maximus, main street of Condate (Roman name for Rennes), and another important artery. At this intersection is erected a monument, an aedicule or a statue, which will become, three centuries later, a temple. Traces of buildings from three different periods are found, as well as everyday objects. A sword is also found on the spot, confirming the martial quality of the city. The renewal of the site began in the 14C when the Dominican order decided to install a convent on the site with the help of the founder is the Duke Jean IV (John) who laid the foundation stone. In this place are celebrated the engagement of Anne of Brittany and Charles VIII in 1491. There is a painting of the  Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle of the 14C depicting the Virgin that made the convent a place of pilgrimage and preaching. It is today preserved in the Basilica Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle. The convent then declines, until its end at the French revolution. Some brothers refuse to take an oath of the new revolutionary French constitution, while others found a priest position in Rennes. In 1793, the building was assigned to the army, which turned it into a barracks, and then housed the sports club of the garrison of Rennes. 

The official Convention Center of Rennes : https://www.centre-congres-rennes.fr/en/

The City of Rennes on the Convention Center : https://metropole.rennes.fr/organisme/le-couvent-des-jacobins-centre-des-congres-de-rennes-metropole-5434

The Rennes tourist office on the Convention Center : https://www.tourisme-rennes.com/fr/decouvrir-rennes/actualites/couvent-dates-cles/

There you go folks, ,one simple trip to Rennes and gems are found, we have more , a lot more , stay tune in m lovely Bretagne ,and my belle France, Hope you enjoy the monument in a great location for walks, this is the old Jacobins convent now the Convention Center of Rennes !

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