The Porte Saint Pierre of Nantes, part II !!!

Posted in Bretagne, France

We have come quite often to Nantes, a City that needs to be visited more by all. A wonderful historical city with many monuments to see, many wonderful properties. I was again on my local road warrior mode and as bit not back, decided to give it a refresher to this must to visit City of Nantes, Loire-Atlantique dept 44 of the Pays de la Loire region,in my belle France ; even if old Bretagne! Do read my previous posts on the city as well, For now let me tell you more of the historically nice Porte Saint Pierre of Nantes, part II !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.

Nantes porte Saint Pierre front mar24

The Porte Saint-Pierre ,also called Porte du Bastion Saint-Pierre or Manoir Guéguen is the best-preserved vestige of the city walls of Nantes. The gate was protected by the Guy de Thouars tower and the Evêché tower today gone. Dating from the 15C for the lower part and resting on foundations of the Gallo-Roman period 3C, also incorporating vestiges of the enclosures of the 9C and 13C, it is located at the end of the rue de l’Évêché overlooking Cours Saint-Pierre and Place Maréchal-Foch, very near the chevet of Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul Cathedral (see posts).

Nantes porte Saint Pierre to colonne Louis-XVI mar24

The Porte Saint-Pierre gate is the best preserved vestige of the ramparts of the city of Nantes, King Henri IV crossed it, it is said, when he entered the city, in 1598, to come and sign the edict of Nantes. Indeed, the road from Paris led to the Porte Saint-Pierre. In 1910, the Porte Saint-Pierre was released from the former bishopric. From the 1920s in the 1960s the gate hosted the “Nantes museum by the image” which presented in particular a model of the port. Since then, the collections of this museum have been transferred to the castle of the Dukes of Brittany.

At the beginning of the 16C, Bishop Guéguen chose to have a house built above the gate itself. Part of it was demolished when the rue Royale now rue du Roi-Albert was opened in the 18C. The medieval town is limited to the current district of Bouffay. The gate leads to the Place du Maréchal Foch, on which stands a statue of king Louis XIV at the top of a column. King Henry IV crossed it, it is said, when he entered the city in 1598 to come and sign the Edict of Nantes. Indeed, the road from Paris ended at Porte Saint-Pierre. In the 18C, the drawbridge was replaced by a stone pavement to facilitate access to the newly built Cours Saint-Pierre and Saint-André. In 1910, the Saint-Pierre gate was cleared from the old bishopric. From the 1920s to the 1960s, the gate housed the Musée de Nantes par l’image or images museum through the image which presented in particular a model of the port. Since then, the collections of this museum have been transferred to the castle of the Dukes of Brittany.

The Heritage site of the City of Nantes on the Porte Saint Pierre : https://patrimonia.nantes.fr/home/decouvrir/themes-et-quartiers/fouille-porte-saint-pierre.html

There you go folks, do visit Nantes ,and its wonderful monuments, A must to visit while in the city ; see more of the historically nice Porte Saint Pierre of Nantes, part II !!! Again, hope you enjoy this post as I.

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

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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.

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