The Church Notre Dame of Villeneuve en Retz !!!

Posted in Bretagne, France

And back on my local road warrior mode, this time going south to old Brittany in the Loire Atlantique dept 44 of the new Pays de la Loire region. A wonderful coastal trip of my belle France just south of me with plenty of architecture, history, and beaches, Let me tell you about the Church Notre Dame of Villeneuve en Retz !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.

Villeneuve en Retz ch Notre Dame front Fresnay en retz mar24

Villeneuve en Retz ch Notre Dame side right Fresnay en retz mar24

The town of Villeneuve-en-Retz has been, since January 1, 2016, a new French town born from the merger of the towns of Bourgneuf-en-Retz and Fresnay-en-Retz. Originally the town of Bourgneuf is itself, the new town of the parish of Saint-Cyr-en Retz. For a long time, the history of these three villages has been linked to the importance of proximity to the sea, the bay of Bourgneuf and the city of Nantes. So places might seems from the same town today,but they are in different villages apart,Therefore, the main town is 16 km from Pornic, 53 km from Nantes, and 153 km from my house.

The Church Notre-Dame of Fresnay in Retz (Villeneuve en Retz) ,dates from the 17C, rebuilt in 1801, is amazing by its paving, made with old funeral slabs , and statues of Saint Barthélemy and Saint Sébastien.

Villeneuve en Retz ch Notre Dame altar Fresnay en retz mar24

The Church Notre Dame of Fresnay en Retz shows historical traces demonstrate that a place of worship was already present in the Middle Ages, at the site of the current church, The first church of Fresnay existed from the 13C, since a document attests to the passage in 1210, from the Bishop of Nantes, In 1681, the church was in very poor condition when the rector, had it rebuilt. The Lord de La Salle in Fresnay participated in this work. Francisque Venier descended from the illustrious Venetian family, the Venieri, who gave three Doges to this city. This Venetian gentleman, arrived in France at the same time as Albert de Gondi by marriage, the room had gone to the family of Bastelard . It was also the knight of Bastelard who had the great altarpiece of the church built it is still visible these days.

Villeneuve en Retz ch Notre Dame back inside Fresnay en retz mar24

At the time of the French revolution, the parish priest, Pierre Loiseau, has a strong influence on the inhabitants of Fresnay. Also, we fear an opposition at the time of the confiscation of ecclesiastical goods. In addition, he refused the oath to the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. Thus, in 1791 the Directory ordered reprisals. The church is closed. Which leads to the radicalization of the inhabitants. During the terrible year of 1793, it was destroyed by republican revolutionary troops. In 1801, worship was restored in Fresnay in the church ; the reconstruction of the church was started. It was in April 1803 that the new church was blessed in 1822, the construction of the bell tower started, as well as a new span. These works were completed in 1883. They will be completed by an arrow surmounted by the rooster and the cross. The bells, set up in 1884, received the name of Amélie, Louise, Henriette, Adelaide, Françoise. The current church is small and sober. She is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, in the feast of her Nativity.

Villeneuve en Retz ch Notre Dame chapel baptismal font st john Baptist Fresnay en retz mar24

The Church Notre Dame contains: a high altar of black marble, dated 1717, which comes from the old church of Bourgneuf. A Cruxifix set up in 1875, the statues of the Virgin, Saint Madeleine and Saint John, installed at the foot of the Cross in 1882. as well as the statues of Saint Barthélemy and Saint Sébastien. The altarpiece is adorned with black marble columns, and the choir of ten seats with mercy.

Villeneuve en Retz ch Notre Dame chapel virgin et child Fresnay en retz mar24

The Pornic tourist office on the Church Notre Dame of the village of Fresnay en Retz now part of Villeneuve en Retz : https://www.pornic.com/eglise-notre-dame-de-fresnay-en-retz.html

The town of Villeneuve en Retz on its heritage : https://villeneuvenretz.fr/tourisme/visitez-villeneuve/

The Pornic tourist office on Villeneuve en Retz : https://en.pornic.com/villeneuve-en-retz-destintion-pornic.html

There you go folks, a short but pleasant trip to the beautiful old Bretagne, that is Loire Atlantique dept 44.  The sea at its best, nice monuments, and pleasant road warrior driving were all that was needed, we have been back !!!! Again, hope you enjoy the post on the Church Notre Dame of Villeneuve en Retz !!! as I.

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

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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