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 !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 
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