Paris1972-Versailles2003

And here we come to the wonderful intra muros center in Saint Malo. Again written before, but these are older new pictures in my blog on the Castle of Anne of Brittany a wonderful place. This has the City hall and maritime museum but now closed until 2025, in a new building, It is still a must place to see and hope you enjoy this follow up post on it as I

You know, Saint-Malo owes its name to the Welsh monk Mac Low who, around the 6C, became bishop of Alet, the ancient cradle of the current town founded in the middle of the 12C.The Château de Saint-Malo, which now houses the city/town hall, was built by the Dukes of Bretagne ; integrating the northern part of the enclosure by the Porte Saint-Thomas, it separates the Porte Saint-Vincent-by an interruption, the latter corresponding to the old moat which isolated it from the rest of the city.

As said, the castle was built by the Dukes of Brittany to ensure their guardianship over the city of Saint-Malo, it’s impressive! It is possible to access the upper parts of the large keep of the castle ,The current collections, valued at more than 8,500 pieces, focus more particularly on the history and maritime heritage of Saint-Malo and its surrounding country. Modified and completed by the construction of several other towers over the centuries ,such as the La Générale , Quic-En-Groigne, Moulins and Dames ,the castle then became a prison, garrison, and later museum. From the entrance,the large Porte de Saint-Vincent gate, you can see on the right side of the ramparts, several keeps and towers adorned with the coat of arms of Saint-Malo. From these turrets, the view is breathtaking: a 360° view of the city and the surroundings.

The construction of the ducal castle of Saint-Malo began in 1424 with the construction of the Grand Donjon 35 meters high in the shape of a horseshoe. Crowned with machicolation, the keep has a covered gallery on the top floor, the roof of which is surmounted by two watchtower turrets joined to one another. Then, Duke François II had the La Générale or General Tower built . Then, it was his daughter, the Duchess Anne of Brittany, who raised the Tour Quic-en-Groigne tower, completed in 1505. Four other towers finally came to complete the building: the Tour des Dames , the Tour des Moulins ,and the less imposing Petit Donjon and Tour Carrée. The castle was thus to resemble, according to Duchess Anne’s wishes, a carriage, with four wheels , the towers connected by curtain walls, a box , the Grand Donjon, and a drawbar , the Pointe de la Galère which extends the castle. Since 1927, the Grand Donjon has housed the city’s History Museum, which traces the past of the corsair city through some famous figures in Saint-Malo, such as Jacques Cartier, Duguay-Trouin and Chateaubriand. In the General Tower is also the Ethnographic Museum of the Malouin Country which evokes among other things the time of fishing in Newfoundland and shipbuilding in the region. The Château also houses the City/Town Hall of Saint-Malo. The panorama over the city and the bay of Saint-Malo from the top of the watchtowers of the Grand Donjon is awesome !

The city of Saint Malo on the museum opening 2025 : https://www.st-malo.com/tourisme/art-culture/musee-histoire-de-la-ville/

There you go folks, a dandy castle of Saint Malo, a must to see, Be aware the museum is closed for renovation and moving to new quarters by 2025 , Nevertheless, the castle is worth the detour ! Again, hope you enjoy the post as I

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

I again ,looking at my blog and again see posts lacking all pictures!  Therefore, this is the season to remedy that and I am adding new text with new older pictures to my blog. This is the case on the Basilica Notre Dame de Bonne Nouvelle of Rennes !! Of course, Rennes is in dept 35 Ille et Vilaine of my lovely Bretagne and in my belle France. Hope you enjoy the post as I.

I have given you plenty of history and architecture info on the previous post so this one will be briefer just to show the new old pictures to the blog. The former church of Saint-Aubin, later Basilica of Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle, is located in the city center by rue Saint Malo and place Sainte-Anne. Its north and east facades are bordered by the Contour Saint-Aubin. The Rue de Saint-Malo separates the church from the convent of the Jacobins (see post). It was erected in Basilica minor on August 6, 1916.

The parish church dedicated to Saint Aubin, also called Saint-Aubin-en-Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle, built between 1884 (date of the laying of the first stone) and 1904 (inauguration of the church) replacing the old destroyed church, located west of Place Sainte-Anne. It has a nave with only three bays and the facade was never built. Most of the windows are from the 1st half of the 20C. It traces, in its stained glass windows, the history of Rennes and Brittany. Also depicted in medallions are scenes from the history of Brittany in connection with Duchess Anne.

Tradition reports that the Duke of Brittany Jean IV attributed the victory of the Montfort party over the Blois, during the war of succession of the duchy of Brittany, during the battle of Auray (1364) , to the intercession of the Virgin Mary. In 1368 he founded the Dominican convent of Rennes which quickly took the name of convent of Bonne-Nouvelle, a picture painted on wood of the Virgin and Child becoming during the 15C is the object of veneration by the faithful of Rennes. Various miracles would have accompanied this devotion, in particular the end of a plague epidemic in 1634, following a wish conditioning the realization of a solid silver model of the city of Rennes to the stopping of the plague. Similarly, during the great fire in Rennes on December 23, 1720, the Virgin of Bonne-Nouvelle would have appeared in the sky, the event being represented on a painting in the Saint-Sauveur basilica, Still, the vow was melted during the French revolution and replaced after a cholera epidemic in 1849 by a new ex-voto dating from 1861. During the Prussian invasion of 1871, Mgr Brossay-Saint-Marc decided to offer a candle to Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle every September 8, if the city were spared. This tradition continued ,and the church was erected as a basilica on August 6, 1916.

Due to the damage suffered by the metro works of the city of Rennes as of December 2022 , it is closed until an indefinite date. Hoping that this church rich in prayers and history will open its doors again to welcome believers and visitors alike soon.

The Rennes metro area on the Basilica location :https://metropole.rennes.fr/organisme/basilique-notre-dame-de-bonne-nouvelle-5175

The Rennes tourist office on the Basilica: https://www.tourisme-rennes.com/fr/decouvrir-rennes/histoire/basilique-saint-aubin/

There you go folks, a masterpiece to be visited while in Rennes. This is a wonderful monument that is the Basilica Notre Dame de Bonne Nouvelle of Rennes !! Again, hope you enjoy the post as I

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

As I past by this wonderful Basilica of Sainte Anne d’Auray almost every day, and looking at my previous posts, realised left out some important personages which will try to tell you all now, Therefore, this is new text and using older pictures on Yves Nicolazic of the Basilica of Sainte Anne d’Auray. Hope you enjoy the post as I.

Yves Nicolazic was a Breton peasant who testified to having benefited from apparitions of Saint Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary, (and grandfather of Jesus ,and patron saint of Brittany) ,and who after unearthing a forgotten statue representing her in the field known as Bocenno is at the origin of the place of pilgrimage and the construction of the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-d’Auray.  At the beginning of the 17C, Nicolazic was a peasant from Broërec , who spoke only Breton and could neither read nor write; he was a man simple and profound in spiritual life. Praying, helping others, charitable. It should be noted that Nicolazic and his wife Guillemette Leroux, an unexpected confidence and on January 18, 1628, he presented himself at the church of Pluneret, announcing to the rector that he was bringing a boy to be baptized. Two years later a girl named Jeanne was born, then another girl named Paterne, he lived in the village of Ker Anna, “village of Anne” in Breton, and their field of Bocenno according to an ancient tradition would have once contained a chapel dedicated to Saint Anne.

The miraculous visions and apparitions of Saint Anne to Yves Nicolazic appear at a time when the bishopric of Vannes was marked by a religious revival driven by the Counter-Reformation and by the mystical visions of other lay people such as Pierre Le Gouvello de Keriolet (see post ) or Armelle Nicolas, On July 25, 1624, the eve of Sainte-Anne, the Lady appears again in the evening on the road, says words to him to reassure him and leads him home, a torch in his hand , Then in the light, the mysterious Lady appears and she is talking to him: “Yvon Nicolazic, don’t be afraid. I am Anne, mother of Mary. Tell your rector that in the piece of land called the Bocenno, there was once, even before there was any village, a chapel dedicated in my name. It was the first in the whole country. It has been ruined for 924 years and 6 months. I want it to be rebuilt as soon as possible and for you to take care of it because God wants me to be honored there.  When, on the night of  March 7 to 8, 1625,  Saint Anne appeared again, she recommended  that Yvon take his brother-in-law Leroux and his neighbors with him: “Lead them with you to the place where this torch will lead you, you find the image of the statue, that will shelter you from the world, which will finally know the truth of what I have promised you”. A mysterious candle or according to another version a torch led them to his Bocenno field before sinking underground. A few moments later, the peasants unearthed at the foot of the torch an old statue of corroded olive wood, with however still traces of white and azure. However, it is unverifiable since the statue disappeared during the French revolution, of course, The cult of Saint Anne developed on the site of the discovery and a chapel was built there. The first official mass was celebrated, by decision of the Bishop of Vannes on July 26, 1625.Below his house sanctuary in town

From that day on, Yves Nicolazic becomes a builder. He directs the works, drives the voluntary cartages of stone or slate, the felling of wood, pays the contractors, and all this with wisdom and probity, he who can neither read, nor write, nor speak anything other than Breton. . The chapel built, he disappears, leaves the village of Keranna to leave all the room to Saint Anne and the countless pilgrims. He died in Sainte-Anne-d’Auray on May 13, 1645. Finally, in 1872 the first chapel built by Yves Nicolazic became too small to accommodate the crowd of pilgrims.  It was built in the same field of Bocenno which was found the original statue of Sainte. Anne by Yves Nicolazic.  Neo-Gothic combines the grace of the Renaissance, model houses the tombs of Yves Nicolazic , the man who saw Sainte. Anne .  A bas-relief on a pillar of the choir, right, points out the spot where Yves Nicolazic and its neighbors, discovered the statue of Sainte Anne March 7, 1625. The cause for beatification was reconsidered following the pilgrimage made by Pope John Paul II to his shrine on September 20, 1996; A draft had already been prepared from 1935 to 1937, so a definitive file was officially deposited at the Vatican, at the end of the year 2000. Still pending,,,, Anyway today the Basilica of Sainte Anne pardon held between July 24-26 each year is the third biggest gathering of Catholics in France behind Lisieux and Lourdes. We have between half a million to one million pilgrims here!

The official Sanctuary of Sainte Anne d’Auray see Nicolazic: https://www.sainteanne-sanctuaire.com/default.asp?mode=histoire&id=609

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

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

There you go folks, again, a day is needed 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. The story of Yves Nicolazic and the Basilica of Sainte Anne is worth the detour. Again, hope you enjoy the post as I

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