Paris1972-Versailles2003

In my road warrior trips in my lovely Bretagne of my belle France! This is awesome, i past by this town briefly and had no pictures, the decided today to take a trip there with the boys and take a closer look to find more amazing sights to show in my blog for me and to the world, This is the wonderful off the beaten path town of Carhaix for short up in my Finistére dept 29, Hope you enjoy the post as I.

The town of Carhaix-Plouguer commonly known as Carhaix (as I call it) ,is located in the Poher, an important territory of Cornwall, sandwiched between the Monts d’Arrée to the north and the Montagnes Noires to the south.  The town of Carhaix is at the crossroads of two important roads: the N 164, axis Rennes – Montauban-de-Bretagne – Loudéac – Rostrenen – Carhaix – Châteaulin, gradually transformed into an expressway and the D769 Lorient-Roscoff axis via Carhaix and Morlaix, two-lane but with a modernized profile. It is 92 km from Vannes ,141 km from Rennes, and 191 km from Nantes, It is ,also, 92 km from my house, The town has also maintained a rail link with Guingamp which allows it connections mainly with Rennes and Paris.

The gare of Carhaix train station became, at the beginning of the 20C, the heart of the Breton network and one of the largest meter gauge stations in Europe. It is in service between Carhaix and Guingamp only today. Emblem of the Breton Network, the Mallet E415 locomotive is displayed near it, next to ti . The locomotive was built in 1913 by the Piguet Establishments, it ran on the Breton Network until the end of the network in 1967. The city of Carhaix bought it at auction in 1986. Completely restored in 2016, it returned to the square on June 15, 2017. To protect it from the weather and enhance it, an Art Deco style awning was installed in 2018,

Coreff is a brand of Breton beer it has been brewed in Carhaix (29) since 2005 , It was created in 1985, and historically, it is the first craft beer in France me think, A second factory was created in Vigneux-de-Bretagne (Loire-Atlantique 44), and a third factory was done in Liffre, near Rennes (35).

 The Carhaix-Plouguer Roman aqueduct is a set of two Gallo-Roman aqueducts supplying the town of Vorgium. 11 km long and 27 km long, the aqueduct was fed by numerous springs and streams located southeast of the town. The remains of the aqueduct located rue de l’Aqueduc-Romain in Carhaix.

The Château Rouge with its unique architecture was commissioned, at the very beginning of the 20C, by Constant Lancien, a notary from Carhaix to please his wife. And the least we can say is that you are here in front of an original building. The estate, in addition to the castle, includes stables, a garden and you will even find a house at the back. But before becoming one of the cultural emblems of Carhaix, the Château Rouge had a darker past when it was the scene of executions during the nazis occupation. Purchased by the city in 1956 , today a public building, it houses the city library on the ground floor and the music school on the first floor, Nice well kept building indeed.

Other things to see me think ,with more time are

The maison du Sénéchal (currently the tourist office), dating from the 16C, Place de la Mairie: it corresponds to the former place des halles. The medieval wooden halles or market there were destroyed at the end of the 19C.However, newer ones were built just behind it. These old restored halles offer a very beautiful modular space of 410 m² with a capacity of 620 standing places and 350 seats. The vocation of the room is versatile with a festive dominance. The current city/town hall dates from the 1890s. The Place de la Tour-d’Auvergne corresponds to the former Place du Champ-de-Bataille built in 1760. A bronze statue, a tribute to Théophile-Malo de La Tour d’Auvergne -Corret and sculpted by Baron Carlo Marochetti, was erected on Place de la Tour-d’Auvergne on June 27, 1841. The castle of Kerampuil, The Pantheon of the most popular Bretons is in the heart of the city center, statues of the Goadec sisters, cyclists Bernard Hinault, Louison Bobet, Jean Robic and Lucien Petit-Breton, by Anatole Le Braz, in homage to illustrious Bretons. The Chapelle Sainte Thérèse of Lisieux is part of the hospital now and was built in 1934. The construction has a rectangular plan with windows and doors in pointed arch. The Augustinian convent of which only a few arcades and a portal remain, The Carmelite convent of which only the facade of the old chapel remains; the city’s town planning departments are based there. The former convent of the Hospitallers and the chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. Founded in 1663, its construction was completed around 1698. The Sainte-Anne Chapel, rebuilt in the 19C in the neo-Gothic style, is the last vestige of the house of the poor founded in 1478 and which was the first hospital of Carhaix.

 There is one major festival that must be seen at least once, It is now most known for hosting, since 1992, the Vieilles Charrues festival, one of the main music festivals in Europe.(indeed), It is a music festival welcoming international, national and local artists with the aim of mixing genres and being accessible to all audiences. It quickly became the largest French music festival in terms of attendance , Organized by the association Les Vieilles Charrues, the structure donates part of the profits for the development of the associative and cultural fabric of central Brittany. See it next in July 2023 ; webpage :https://www.vieillescharrues.asso.fr/

The City of Carhaix on its heritage : https://www.ville-carhaix.bzh/accueil_carhaix/decouvrir_carhaix/patrimoine

The official Carhaix-Poher tourist office on its heritage :https://www.carhaixpohertourisme.bzh/visiter-et-bouger/culture-et-patrimoine/le-patrimoine-de-carhaix/

There you go folks, a huge off the beaten path town north of me, This is Carhaix for short, and its worth the detour me think, Again, hope you enjoy the post as I.

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

In my road warrior trips in my lovely Bretagne of my belle France! This is awesome, I found me a new town !! ; more amazing sights to show in my blog for me and to the world, This was part of on the road again warrior as was planning to go another town and took a side road C1 to see a new route and passed by Motreff !!,it is in department 29 of Finistére. So another off the beaten path gem and see the nice Church Saint Pierre of Motreff on the communal road C1 or route de la Montagne. Hope you enjoy the post as I.

The town of Motreff is located on the border of those of Morbihan 56 and Côtes-d’Armor 22 and south of Carhaix.The western part of the town is crossed by the D 769 going from Lorient to Roscoff via Gourin, Carhaix and Morlaix, I came up on this road, then bear off on the C1 as above. The town is about 92 km from my house.

The monument that made me stop here was the parish Church of Saint-Pierre ,it dates from the 17C. The construction is in the shape of a Latin cross with a canted apse, The High altar in a curved tomb, 17C. At the two side altars, altarpieces with two columns and curved cornice, 18C or early 19C; in the counter-tables, paintings of the Rosary, to the north, and of Purgatory, to the south, painting on canvas. The Choir enclosure with balusters at the side altars only. Stalls in place in the choir , It has old statues, in wood: of Saint Anne in the porch; – in painted and gilded wood: Christ on the Cross, 18C, Holy Trinity 16C, two adoring Angels, Virgin and Child, Saint Peter, Saint Corentin, Saint Leuffroy bishop, reliquary bust of an unidentified saint. Painting of the Crucifixion, painting on canvas, above the door to the porch. The current church shows remains of the 16C construction: transept vaults, interior door of the south porch and part of the west gable; reconstruction from 1763 to 1768; south porch bears the date 1767; font chapel in 1834.

A bit of history I like

The motte castrale of Kergorlay dates from the 11C or the 12C as the story goes Jean de Kergorlay was crusader in 1096 (First crusade); Pierre III de Kergorlay was crusader in 1249 (Seventh crusade) and 1270 (Eighth crusade), his name and arms appear in the Salle des Croisades of the Palace of Versailles , The lords of Kergorlay had right of preeminence in the parish church of Motreff and their arms appeared on the main window of the parish church built in the first half of the 16C, right which was recalled during the construction of the current church in 1767, Motreff was one of the towns of Finistère where the slate activity was the most important with about thirty slate quarries were in activity around 1848, all initially exploited in the open air, except that of Lescollet, The slate quarry of Lannezval was the last to be close its doors in Finistère in 2001,

The other things to see here are

The motte castrale of Kergorlay located on the road D22 to Plévin. There are traces of several members of the Kergolay family, owners of the motte, from the 12C. The family died out in 1380, . The Calvary ,date from the 16C, of the type with three close shafts as at Saint-Hernin. Crosses deprived of their thieves. On the main cross, the risen Christ on the reverse of the Crucifix; Virgin and Saint John on bases, Saint Michael slaying the dragon in bas-relief against the shaft, Virgin of Mercy supported by two holy women at the foot of the shaft.

The town of Motreff on its history :https://www.motreff.fr/accueil_motreff/la_commune/historique

There you go folks, a huge off the beaten path town north of me, This is Motreff, and its worth the detour me think, Again, hope you enjoy the post as I.

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