Church Saint Pierre et Saint Paul of Missillac !!

Posted in Bretagne, France

I take you back to Missillac in inland Loire Atlantique dept 44 in the Pays de la Loire region of old Bretagne, and my belle France. Love to going to these off the beaten path towns and find me gems to put in my blog, Again, found me older pictures not yet in my blog and they should be, Therefore, here is the Church Saint Peter et Saint Paul of Missillac !! Hope you enjoy the post as I.

missillac ch Saint Pierre et Saint Paul belltower jun19

First a bit of where is Missillac! Well to start is about 1h30 by car from my house! Missillac is located on the edge of
my beautiful Morbihan dept 56 of my lovely Bretagne, 25 km from Saint-Nazaire, 55 km from Nantes, 55 km from Vannes and 25 km from Redon. The neighbouring towns are Séverac, Saint-Gildas-des-Bois (see post), Pontchâteau, Sainte-Reine-de-Bretagne, La Chapelle-des-Marais and Herbignac in Loire-Atlantique dept 44, Nivillac, Saint-Dolay and Théhillac in 
Morbihan dept 56. Missillac is another gem in the west of France and another pin in my world map.

The first Church of St Pierre et St Paul in Missillac was probably destroyed by the Vikings who came by the Vilaine river at the beginning of the 10C. Around 925, one of the Viking chiefs, Bernhard, erected a dungeon on the banks of the Vilaine river and the village which he founded took his name and became the La Roche-Bernard (or the rock of Bernard,see my posts on the town), capital of the barony and the high place of the deanery of the same name which subsisted until the French revolution of 1789. The son of Bernard, the Lord Simon I of La Roche Bernard implements on his domain of Lampridic (now Saint-Gildas-des-Bois (see abbey post on it)) a Benedictine Abbey in honor of God Almighty and Blessed Abbot Gildas in 1026. In 1150, the parish of Missillac, which then comprises the territories of Mirsilliacus, Théhillac and the present parish of La Chapelle-des-Marais, is officially founded and its administration is entrusted to the Benedictines of the Abbey of Saint-Gildas-des-Bois and will depend on the parish until the French revolution.

This Church Saint Pierre et Saint Paul replaces an ancient small church and a primitive sanctuary, apparently, once at the place called Le Tertre, which dominates the current town. In 1849, during the drilling of the road (D2) linking Missillac to Saint-Gildas-des-Bois, the works updated many tombs dating back to the 7C or 8C. The present Church comprises an apse, a choir, two sacristies, a transept and two lateral spans that end in a grandstand, elevated on the site of the lateral nave of the ancient Sanctuary. The church was blessed in 1898. The stained glass windows, depicting the scenes from the life of Christ, date from 1600; it is a gift from the Baron de La Roche-Bernard, François de Coligny . These stained glass windows are shown, in the top, the arms of the Coligny and Cambout (François de Cambout was, in 1600, Abbot of the Abbey of Saint-Gildas-des-Bois). The wooden altarpiece dates from the 18C.

missillac ch Saint Pierre et Saint Paul right chapel jun19
missillac ch saint pierre et saint paul back side jun19

A bit of history I like tell us that the history of Missillac also is link to that of the Château de la Bretesche, (see post ) residence of the barons of La Roche-Bernard in the middle ages. The Chatelaine de la Bretesche belongs in the year 1000 to Bernard de la Roche. The fortress of la Bretesche , 14C was rebuilt in the 15C, beset by Mercoeur in the 16C, destroyed in the French revolution and rebuilt again in the 19C.  In 1806, the town of  La Bretèche hitherto independent, is attached to that of Missillac. For nearly a century, between 1871 and 1959, the Montaigu family was regularly elected to the head of the City/Town Hall. This longevity combined with their fortunes, allows them to oppose the Prefecture when the latter attempts to impose Republican reforms (French revolution), including the school laws. The resistants of autonomist obedience of the groupe Liberté (freedom group) had a base in Missillac in 1943, then in connection with the Commander Verliac they helped provide the men of the battalion of the pocket of 
Saint Nazaire. At the end of WWII, because of the existence of the pocket of Saint-Nazaire, the Nazis occupation extended to 
Missillac as on all the neighbouring localities of the estuary for 9 months more or from August 1944 to 11 May 1945, the surrender of the pocket of Saint Nazaire intervening 3 days after the surrender of Nazi Germany.

The town of Missillac on the Church St Peter and St Paul: https://www.missillac.fr/eglise-culte/

The local Pontchâteau St Gildas des Bois tourist office on the church : https://www.pontchateau-saintgildasdesbois.com/visite-eglise-de-missillac-missillac.html

There you go folks, a nice quant inner town, and still with strong attachment to Brittany. Quite laid back ,Missillac it is great for the curious, the history and architecture lover in me, and just plain road warrior freedom of the road mentality. Again, hope you enjoy this post on the Church Saint Peter et Saint Paul of Missillac !! as I

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

Unknown's avatar

Published by pedmar10

I am a lover of travels to Europe , Americas , Africa and Asia as well ,who like to share my experiences of the last 53 years with the world, visiting so far 81 countries; living in 6, working in 5, and Citizen of 4, speaking fluently 4 languages. I can deal with sports especially football/soccer and love music, arts, wine collector/drinker, and go out to restaurants, and just visit the world. My background comes all the way from Candelaria and Pajara in Tenerife, Spain where my grandparents came from ;not knowing each other then, to Punta Brava, west of Havana, Cuba. There , my parents born in Cuba met and later on I was born there too. 100% guanche (annexed Tenerife to Spain on April 10 ,1496). I left Cuba as many have to Madrid, Spain where I lived for 4 years. Then, move to Perth Amboy ,New Jersey USA (living there 13 yrs) ; where I completed high school, became a US Citizen, learned to drive a car, and learned English. Afterward, went to the university in Florida, ERAU, and upon graduation decided to moved there to Ormond by the Sea, near Daytona Beach, finally moving North Miami, then Hialeah, then another moved to Silver Lakes division in Miramar, Broward county, Florida; in Florida I lived a total of 18 years. Finally , moved to France in 2003 ,Versailles call me for its royalty, and working in Paris was great. It was time to seek frontiers again and moved to Brech near Auray, Morbihan in Brittany , and later move to not too far Pluvigner. Total so far in France has been 20 years, and counting. Moving average a home every 5.5 years hopefully this will be my last. Cheers All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the written permission of the copyright holder, me. No part of this work may be modified, without the written permission of the holder, me.No part of this work may be exposed to public view in any form or by any means, without identifying the holder as the author, and with the before mentioned permission.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.