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 on the St Peter’s Church as I.
The parish Church of Saint-Pierre de Plouguer , is impressive and had the opportunity to see it up close and personal . It was originally a Romanesque church, it was founded in 1108 for the priory created by the Benedictine monks of Saint-Sauveur de Redon,. It was Viscount Tanguy de Poher who built this church. It is one of the eight oldest sanctuaries in Brittany still standing, and the oldest in the town of Carhaix. In the 16-17C, we speak of Plou-Ker-Karahes: the parish of the town of Carhaix. During the French revolution, Carhaix and Plouguer became two independent parishes. The municipalities of Carhaix and Plouguer were also set up, which would not merge until 1957.
Thus the Church of Saint-Pierre de Plouguer dates back, for its oldest Romanesque parts such as the interior of the nave, to the 11C. Its southern porch has a very particular horseshoe arcade, probably dating from the 18C, The Church Saint Pierre de Plouguer was built on a basilica plan. The church implements both the Romanesque and Gothic side. We can see this because it was in the Romanesque period that this church was consecrated. Romanesque art developed from the 10C and extended until the 12C. This art is characterized above all by its barrel vaults, its cross vaults and by the construction of buttresses to stop the thrust. Romanesque buildings are relatively low and have thick walls and low light inside, due to few and often small windows. Regarding the church, it has been altered several times, because the sacristy was rebuilt in 1514. This church has a particular style regarding its southern porch, it has a horseshoe arcade. The nave is of Gothic origin as it was remodeled in the 16C.
Of the Romanesque construction, the nave remains: on the north side, four bays are preserved. On the south side, only two and a half spans ,partly walled up, remain. It is characterized by its high third-point arcades carried by octagonal pillars. The nave and the side aisles are covered with a unique two-sided roof. A steeple-porch imitating that of Saint-Trémeur,(see post) in more modest, is raised to the west in the extension of the nave.
A bit of history I like, and a nice one Carhaix has indeed, but will condence much for ease of reading, on this post.
It was in 1206 that Carhaix entered the ducal domain of the Duke of Brittany, when the existence of a Viscount of Poher, in this case Rivallon III, was also mentioned for the last time. In 1341, the bishop of Léon, who held the castle of Carhaix for Charles de Blois(see post) had to capitulate to the troops of Jean de Montfort.The Monfortists were driven out by Bertrand du Guesclin in 1363 after a six-week siege. It was through a postern in the garden of the Augustinian convent that the troops of Charles de Blois slipped into the enclosure. The enclosure was then demolished and Carhaix became an open town. In 1365, the Treaty of Guérande, which followed the death of Charles de Blois, kept the domain of Jeanne de Penthièvre, including the castellany of Carhaix. The treaty of Aucfer of 1395 confirms the possessions of Penthièvres. In 1420, the goods of Penthièvres are confiscated by Jean V and are attached directly to the duke of Brittany, On June 5, 1432, Charles de Blois and Jeanne de Penthièvre occupied Carhaix before joining it on June 13 at the siege of Hennebont.
In July 1588, the town and its inhabitants swore loyalty to King Henry III and the Holy League. On October 12, 1595, the army of Henry IV, commanded by François d’Espinay de Saint-Luc, lieutenant general of Brittany, entered Carhaix where the population celebrated it., The town was at the center of the peasant uprising known as the Bonnets rouges or Revolt of the Red Caps between July 6 and October 12, 1675 with grave consequences for the participants, As part of the Counter-Reformation, three new convents were established in the town in the 17C, the Ursulines ( education) in 1644, that of the Discalced Carmelites (public charity) in 1687, and that of the Hospitallers (hospital) completed in 1698.
In September 1791, during the French revolution, the National Assembly decreed the merger into a single parish, under the invocation of Saint-Trémeur, of the parishes and truces of Carhaix, Plounévézel, Sainte-Catherine, Saint-Quijeau and Treffrin , Refusing to give up monastic life, the monks of the Carmelite convent were expelled in 1790 and those of the Augustinian convent in 1791. The nuns were expelled on April 13, 1792 against the will of the inhabitants (they returned in 1811). During the Terror, Carhaix was under the control of a “Committee of Six” made up of extremist Jacobins; there were many lootings, for example the very rich library of the Château de Kerampuil, formed by several generations of advisers to the Parliament of Brittany. The counter revolutionary Chouans scoured the Carhaix region led mainly by De Bar from the summer of 1792. After 1805, De Bar eventually emigrated to England to escape prosecution.
In the 19C and in the first decades of the 20C, Carhaix was truly obsessed with the memory of La Tour d’Auvergne, its “great man”, in favor of whom it multiplied commemorations and various festivals, often with the arrival of national personalities. , for more than a century. In 1841, the inauguration of his statue gave rise to a grandiose celebration. That day inaugurated, as we know, the statue of the “first grenadier of France”.
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 !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 
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