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 Saint Cyr et Sainte Julitte of Villeneuve en Retz !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
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 village of Saint Cyr is located on the old shore of the Gulf of Machecoul. It would date from the Roman era. Founded by the lords of the Noah Briord in the 13C, the history of Saint-Cyr was linked to the sea, and in particular its withdrawal due to the siltation of the Breton marsh It is only one km from Fresnay en Retz (see post), Port since antiquity, the village of Saint-Cyr dates back to Roman times. In the Middle Ages, it becomes an independent parish. But the retreat of the sea forces the locals to create a new town in the 11C. The development of this new town, the Bourgneuf of Saint-Cyr made losing in Saint-Cyr its role as a nerve center of the town, and became Bourgneuf in 1793, then Bourgneuf-en-Retz in 1887: the new Port becomes more important than the old village of Saint-Cyr. On January 1, 2016, Saint-Cyr-en-Retz became a village in the new town of Villeneuve-en-Retz, attached to the delegated town of Bourgneuf-en-Retz.
The Church Saint Cyr et Sainte Julitte located at Rue de l’église in the village of Saint Cyr en Retz now part of Villeneuve en Retz was revised in the 15C and 18C. At the very beginning it is a chapel that the Lord of the Noë Briord had built in 1262, it is of neo -gothic style, its particularity it is its bell tower on the side of the nave. Saint Cyr Christian Martyr of the 6C , son of Sainte Julitte. The church was burned in 1794 by the Republicans during the French revolution. After a subscription to the population, a new church was born with a first stone laid on July 12, 1897, and finished in 1901. It was fully restored from March 2013 to March 2015.
The Church Saint Cyr et Sainte Julitte ,is considered one of the three pretties in the region. After a fire destroyed the first construction, the church of Saint-Cyr, dedicated to Saint Julitte, was rebuilt in 1453 thanks to the subscriptions of the inhabitants of the village. In Romanesque style, with massive buttresses, it had a narrow nave. Its square bell tower, separated from the church, was a bitter for the sailors of the bay. The construction of this new Church Saint Cyr et Sainte Julitte in a neogothic style , allowed by the stained glass windows which surround it, gives it a particularly lit atmosphere. The painting “The Martyrdom of Saint Cyr”, dates from the 17C. This oil painting is located behind the baptismal font, in the nave of the church. This large painting represents a Roman prosecutor, Alexandre, in the presence of his legionaries, who holds by a foot, a young child, Saint Cyr, which he threatens to massacre. The interpretation made of this version suggests that he hopes to obtain from the mother, Saint Julitte, who faces him, the denial of her faith. The church procession banner takes up the theme of the martyrdom of Saint Cyr. It represents Saint Cyr and Sainte Julitte against a background of velvet . The murder of the child took place and the little Saint Cyr lies at the feet of his executioner while his mother, designating the martyred child, shows the heavens of the other hand.The work, constitutes a strong testimony of religious popular art. The banner is not dated but would go back to the 19C. The characters are painted on fabric. Its restoration was done in 2017.
Cyr de Tarsus is a martyr, in 304, at the age of just five years with his mother Sainte Julitte. It is a very young boy who lived in Antioche at the beginning of the 4C, under the reign of Diocletian. While attending a trial against Christians, he managed to slip on the gallery of a judge named Alexander and shouts him in his ear: “I too am a Christian!”. In front of the child’s exclamations, the magistrate catches the young child by a leg and throws him against the wall where he smashes his head and dies. Sainte Julitte, the mother of Saint Cyr, was also martyred. Their worship spread in Gaul.
The Pornic tourist office on the Church St Cyr et St Julitte of Saint Cyr en Retz: https://www.pornic.com/eglise-de-saint-cyr-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 Saint Cyr et Sainte Julitte of Villeneuve en Retz !!! as I.
And remember happy travels, good health,and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 