Paris1972-Versailles2003

I passed by it again today so many times it seems I live here… This is historical, architecturally stunning Sainte Anne d’Auray! I will be telling you about a popular personage here called Pierre de Keriolet and is buried in the Basilica of Sainte Anne (see posts). This is a new post using older pictures not yet in my blog, Hope you enjoy the post as I

This is on Pierre Le Gouvello, Lord of Kériolet, was a Breton penitent, born July 14, 1602 in Auray and died in odor of sanctity in 1660. He was the son of Olivier Le Gouvello, Lord of Keriolet, Kerlois and Talhouët-Salo, and Marie-Anne Guido. He spent his childhood in the Château de Kerlois (see post), in my current town of Pluvigner , the “bandit of God”, and had a turbulent life, his parents sent him to the Jesuit college in Rennes. Later , he was appointed councilor to the parliament of Brittany in 1628.

In 1636, he decided to go observe the Folles de Loudun (nuns who thought they were bewitched by the devil); he attends exorcisms. For a long time he was the bogeyman of the region to scare children. He was around 22 when, after stealing from his parents, he ran away from home: it was the beginning of a life of unimaginable adventures. He then decides to join the Grand Turk and become a Mohammedan. To do this, he takes a boat on the Danube, but cannot go beyond Hungary, he tries to embark for Constantinople from Venice, in vain. He then moved to Paris, embarked on debauchery and witchcraft: he was completely devoted to Satan. When he decides to return to Brittany, he is more violent than ever and quickly makes many enemies. His fury of the duel, despite the king’s ban, even pushes him to provoke the soldiers of the governor of Brittany.

He was definitively converted by leading an existence in the most austere penance. He set an example of repentance, self-denial, and service to the poor, distributing his income to them and making available to them the proceeds of the sale of his office. He was ordained a priest on March 28, 1637. He transformed his castle into a hospice in which he welcomed the poor. He founded in Auray a general hospital dedicated to beggars coming to implore Saint Anne. Following his request, the Augustinians then came to settle in Auray in 1674. There is parking Keriolet in Auray today, He came to Auray as a pilgrim and a penitent. He gave everything to the cause of the Gospel, to the poor of the time, the wounded of today’s life, beggars, tramps, destitute. And that is his true signature.

He felled seriously ill on October 5, 1690, he received the sacrament of the sick and died on October 8: he was 58 years old. People came from all over to attend his funeral. He was buried in the Chapel of Sainte Anne, between the gate of the Choir and the steps of the Altar and one engraved on his tomb: « Here lies Pierre de Keriolet conquest of Mary. He was its faithful and zealous servant. », When the chapel was destroyed to make way for the current basilica, its remains were placed under the altar at the back of the basilica, on the north side, facing the tomb of Yvon Nicolazic.(see post).

The official sanctuary of Sainte Anne d’Auray, see Pierre de Keriolet: https://www.sainteanne-sanctuaire.com/default.asp?mode=histoire&id=636

The city of Sainte Anne d’Auray on the religious heritage : https://www.sainte-anne-auray.com/religieux/

The local Bay of Quiberon local tourist office on the Basilica Sainte Anne d’Auray: https://www.baiedequiberon.co.uk/the-sanctuary-of-sainte-anne-d-auray

There you go folks, need to see this wonderful spot and very worth the detour for those traveling along the N24 or N165.  It is worth it to understand the history of Brittany as well as  France, and the beautiful architecture if not the religious fervor that it attracts. Hope you enjoy this side off the beaten path story on Pierre de Keriolet in Sainte Anne d’Auray. Again, hope you enjoy the post as I.

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

I am taking you to a popular town, However, a must here as well is the Castle ! I do have other post on it but found me new pictures that should be in my blog. Therefore, let me tell you a bit more on the Castle of Rochefort en Terre !!. The town is in my beautiful Morbihan dept 56 of my lovely region of Bretagne. Hope you enjoy the post as I.

In the 12C, the lordship of Elven was divided in two. The lordship of Rochefort was then created. A castle is located at the top of the spur. A section of the 12C wall at the entrance to the castle brings us back to its very ancient origins. This first castle was razed in 1488, following the battle of Saint Aubin-du-Cormier near Rennes. Charles VIII, King of France, orders the destruction of the castle of Jean IV de Rieux-Rochefort, defeated Marshal of Brittany. However, Anne de Bretagne, pupil of the latter, financed its reconstruction. In the middle of the 16C, Claude, heiress of the Rieux-Rocheforts, married François de Coligny and decided to convert the Rochefortais to Protestantism. The castle is set on fire by order of the Duke of Mercœur, a fervent defender of the Catholic faith. The house was restored at the beginning of the 17C by the Comte de Larlan, president of the Parliament of Brittany. A third destruction occurred during the French revolution, in 1793.

Flash forward, in 1907 an American painter Alfred Klots , purchase the castle, By 1911 ,he had the idea to launch a competition throughout the city: that of the “flowered windows”, which became over time that of the “flower villages” or Village Fleuri de France today! YES!  In successive stages, he will revive it and it will become his castle in Brittany. In 1918-1919 he opened his home to the American Red Cross , which makes it a convalescent center for soldiers , which would be worth to him to receive the Legion of Honor  This American adopted by the local Rochefortais died in 1939. Alfred Klots was born in Saint Germain en Laye (Yvelines 78) in 1875, from an American family of Baltimore, MD ,that practiced the silk trade.

His son ,Trafford Klots born in 1913, also devoted himself to painting. In 1940 when the war broke out he created the American Fund for relief to the Bretons, before engaging as an officer in the U S Army. In 1944, back in Rochefort en Terre, he finds intact the Castle and its collections saved thanks to the dedication of the gatekeeper. Trafford Klots will be made a Knight of the Legion of Honor by France. He died in 1976. The Klots family rests in the cemetery of Rochefort en Terre with the  watchman and his maids. What a recognition ! Today, the Castle is a property of the town of Rochefort en Terre that makes it live another way for our greatest pleasure.as a cultural center.

Other period portraits and furniture, the castle today house the Naïa Museum.(see post) This museum of fantastic imaginary arts, created in 2015, arouses the curiosity and emotion of the visitor. It bears this name in reference to the witch Naïa who lived in the underground passages of the castle. The works presented illustrate the theme of the fantastic imagination where dream and reality meet.Indeed a nice museum.

The city of Rochefort en Terre on the castle : http://www.rochefort-en-terre.fr/le-chateau/

The Rochefort en Terre tourist office on the castle : https://en.rochefortenterre-tourisme.bzh/offers/park-of-the-castle-of-rochefort-en-terre-rochefort-en-terre-en-3586693/

There you go folks, a wonderful town of Rochefort en Terre and its nice castle . A  pretty medieval ,quant town that is a must to see while in my area. The castle is tops and see my other posts on the town, good for the whole family or a romantic getaway, Again, hope you enjoy the post as I

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

This a memorable spot for us in my beautiful Morbihan and lovely Bretagne, I do have other post on it but found me new pictures that should be in my blog. Hope you enjoy this whimsical town and its Church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Tronchaye of Rochefort en Terre !!

The Notre-Dame-de-la-Tronchaye Church is curiously located below the town, and built on sloping ground. What strikes you from the entrance are the leaning pillars, evidence of landslides to the south, then to the west. To prevent the church from collapsing, buttresses were built, giving rise, to the south, to an additional aisle parallel to the nave, and to the west, to the lengthening of the nave which allowed the construction of a grandstand. The Notre-Dame-de-la-Tronchaye Church, which became a collegiate church in 1498, was endowed in 1527 with a north facade in the Flamboyant Gothic style.

The outlying location of the Notre Dame de la Tronchaye Church is atypical. Indeed, the popular tradition tells that in the 10C, at the time of the Norman invasions (Vikings), a priest hid, in a hollow tree trunk, a wooden statue representing the Virgin and her child in order to save it from looting. . Two centuries later, a shepherdess would have found this statue in this same trunk; a church was then built there, on the very spot where the statue was found. This story even gave it its name, “Notre-Dame de la Tronchaye”. Indeed, the term “Tronchaye” would come from the word “trunk”.

On the square stands a sculpted Calvary, nicknamed the Bible of the poor because it was used by priests to teach the Bible to the illiterate. The sculptures are carved in granite. This Calvary would be the only one in Brittany to represent the Passion and Ascension of Christ. This is also where the Rochefort cemetery was located until the middle of the 19C.

The City of Rochefort en Terre on the Church : http://www.rochefort-en-terre.fr/la-collegiale/

The Rochefort en Terre tourist office on the Church: https://en.rochefortenterre-tourisme.bzh/offers/church-notre-dame-de-la-tronchaye-rochefort-en-terre-en-3036712/

There you go folks , the Church Notre Dame de la Tronchaye, is magical. One of the sights to see in town and worth the detour , me think, Again, hope you enjoy the post as I

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