Paris1972-Versailles2003

And as we like Fougéres why not staying a bit longer here! Very nice town, one of the dandies in my lovely Bretagne, a find.  Fougéres is 177 km from my house. I found me several pictures that should be in my blog and well here is an additional post on the Church of Saint Sulpice. Hope you enjoy it as I.

The Church of Saint-Sulpice is located at the foot of the castle of Fougères, outside the city walls. Between the castle moat and the old courtyard of the Nançon, in the medieval area of the Tanners, it forms the heart of the Old Town (Lower town), as opposed to the Church of Saint-Léonard (see post), located in the Bourg-Neuf (upper town) which developed from the 12C.

Founded in the 11C to the south of the castle, rebuilt in the 15-16C in a flamboyant Gothic style, completed for the choir in the 18C, the Church of Saint Sulpice is one of the richest in Bretagne such as the nave framed in the hull of an inverted boat , Louis XV woodwork, medieval granite altarpieces, and 16C stained glass windows. Outside, amazing sculptures including a gargoyle called “the satyr” and a sculpture of the fairy Mélusine above the door of the church.

Inside, in the chapel on the left, don’t miss the statue of Notre-Dame-des-Marais. Legend has it that this highly venerated statue was discovered in the 13C near the castle. In the choir also admire the beautiful woodwork dating from the 18C , The current stained glass windows of Saint-Sulpice Church  were made between 1885 and 1926, with the exception of five fragments of stained glass dating from 1558.

The old side chapels, transformed into lower sides, from 1480 to 1530, are separated from the nave by pointed arch arcades, with numerous arches resting on octagonal pillars without capitals. They were hard-ribbed vaulted in the first half of the 16C. The old Grande Notre Dame Chapel, which was created at the end of the 15C by the combination of the primitive Chapel of Notre-Dame built around 1400 and the Paël Chapel built around 1406. The Grande Notre-Dame Chapel had thus been transformed to house the ancient Caen stone statue of Notre-Dame-des-Marais, but the opposition of the parishioners forced the venerated statue to be left in its original place, and, a new stone statue of the Virgin from the 15C, which still exists, was placed in the chapel. This chapel retains a pretty granite altarpiece, called the Rosary Retable. It was probably begun during the reign of the Duchess Anne de Bretagne ,and finished when she was already Queen of France, because it bears a full crest of Brittany, and one of its credenzas is adorned with a crest from France and Brittany.

The Fougéres tourist office on the Church of St Sulpice: https://www.destination-fougeres.bzh/en/site-culturel/eglise-saint-sulpice/

The Ille et Vilaine dept 35 tourist office on the Church of St Sulpice: https://www.ille-et-vilaine-tourisme.bzh/offres/eglise-saint-sulpice-fougeres-fr-2728519/

There you go folks another dandy in my lovely Bretagne. Hope you have enjoy the post and do stop by , worth the detour me think. The Church of Saint Sulpice is one site to visit while in Fougéres,

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

Moving right alone in my lovely Bretagne and visiting the neighboring departmet of Ille et Vilaine no 35 we come to the city of Fougéres! Again, found several pictures not yet in my blog ,and they should. Therefore, here is a bit more on the Church Saint Leonard ; hope you enjoy the post as I.

Walking around town we came upon this church that stands out and took a closer look, we were pleasantly surprise, another jewel in my belle France! As said, the walks are wonderful and get to know more up front and closeup ,here is no exception , The Church Saint Léonard is located in the upper town in the immediate vicinity of the city/town hall and the public garden. The impasse Saint-Léonard separates it from the seat of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Fougéres.

The Saint-Léonard Church was built in the 12C by the monks of Pontlevoy on the plateau which dominates the Château de Fougères (see post). It quickly became the parish of the bourg-neuf de Fougères to the detriment of the Saint Sulpice Church (see post). It was rebuilt from 1407 to 1636 in a flamboyant Gothic style. The Bell Tower, built in 1635, partly in stone and partly in framework, appears at the entrance to the main street of the city like a dominating giant, and is of the most beautiful effect. It is 41 meters high. There reigns at the top of the stone part, a beautiful gallery also in stone, and below, at the four angles, four engaged cannons rest on as many escutcheons with the arms of Fougères

Profaned during the French revolution,the Saint-Léonard Church was radically redesigned in the 19C by reversing the nave and installing the new neo-Gothic facade on the opposite side, this time facing the upper town. Inside, in one of the chapels, the oldest stained glass window in Brittany, representing the life of Saint Benedict. However, the bombardment of the city in 1944 (WWII) having blown away most of the old stained glass windows, these have been replaced by contemporary stained glass windows. The visitor should not leave Fougères without having admired the panorama offered by the bell tower of the church over the whole town and its magnificent view of the castle.Indeed awesome !

The Fougéres tourist office on the Church of Saint Leonard : https://www.destination-fougeres.bzh/site-culturel/eglise-saint-leonard/

The Ille et Vilaine dept 35 tourist office on the heritage of Fougéres: https://www.ille-et-vilaine-tourism.com/discover-ille-et-vilaine/the-loveliest-places/fougeres/

There you go folks ,another dandy monument, worth the detour, me think. Again ,found me some older pictures not in my blog ,and they should, Hope you enjoy this additional post on the Saint Léonard Church of Fougéres as I.

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

As said we love to walk, once in town of course. And doing this we like to expand our horizons and go to off the beaten path areas where not many venture to go. The finds are amazing to say the least. Saint Malo was no different, let your feet do the tell all! We wanted to walk past new sites as Saint Malo has plenty, and found the Church Notre Dame des Gréves, in Rocabey district. Let me tell you more about it and see my previous post on it , Hope you enjoy it as I

The Notre-Dame-des-Grèves Church, in the center of the Rocabey district of Saint-Malo, 400 meters from the train station, towards the sea. A lovely find indeed, Plenty of history and architecture on my first post, this one is to add new old pictures found in my vault that should be in my blog.

The construction of the nave began in 1872 ,and was completed in 1937 with the final transept and the choir, It is in the Latin cross plan, ribbed vaults for the nave, broken barrel vault for the choir, porch bell tower, flat apse. Neo-Gothic style.

The story goes that on May 1, 1867, the mayor, after a declaration of public utility, undertook to acquire from the State a plot of 1.41 ha forming part of the dry shore of Rocabey to build a church there with a presbytery, a school house and an asylum room, the church was given over to worship in 1872. In June 1937, the expansion work began which, despite some ups and downs , allowed the consecration, on October 15, 1938, of the Notre Dame des Gréves Church as we know it today.

The parish of Saint Malo on the Church ND des Gréves: https://www.paroisses-saintmalo.fr/eglise-notre-dame-des-greves/

The Saint Malo tourist office on the Church ND des Gréves: https://www.saint-malo-tourisme.com/offres/eglise-notre-dame-des-greves-saint-malo-fr-3645744/

There you go folks, another dandy find in lovely Saint Malo, just walk about 1,2 km from the intra muros place Chateaubriand along the quai Duguay-Trouin then right on voie de la Liberté past the post office building turn left on Blvd de la Tour d’Auvergne, and the church is right ahead on your right. Hope you enjoy this post on the Church Notre Dames des Gréves of Saint Malo as I.

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