We are in summer, and we have boundless beauties in my belle France and especially in my lovely Bretagne ! I set out again to known and new territories in my road warrior mode of always that took me to neighboring departments in the north of Brittany, I came back again to the beautiful wonderful stunning corsair City of Saint Malo !!. My idea was to see old and new so my first drive and walk was to see the native house of the great writer Chateaubriand ,a native of the City, and this I did finally ! I have many posts on the City in my blog, but this one is a new spot as there is always a first, Therefore, let me tell you about the Maison Natale de Chateaubriand in Saint Malo !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The writer François-René de Chateaubriand was born on September 4, 1768 at no, 3 Rue Chateaubriand in the former hôtel de la Gicquelais , The street was called rue Buhen, renamed rue des Juifs, then rue de la Fraternité under the French revolution, it is currently Rue Chateaubriand in tribute to the most famous of the 19C writers. The parents first lived, in 1757,on rue du Pont-Qui-Tremble, then at the Hôtel de la Plesse on rue de la Victoire, from 1760. In 1768, the family moved to the hôtel de la Gicquelais, former rue des Juifs.
The writer was baptized the day following his birth as tradition back then in the Saint-Vincent Cathedral of Saint Malo (see posts), He describes later in his first book the cathedral as well: “The Cathedral of Saint-Malo placed in the heart of the city, of a rather bad Gothic, is large, dark, religious, and the multitude of altars of the saints and chapels makes it extremely devout. In the « les Mémoires d’Outre-Tombe « or memories of beyond the grave, he describes his birth as follows: « The room where my mother gaved dominates a deserted part of the city walls, and through the windows of this room we see the sea which extends at a loss over views, breaking up on pitfalls … I was almost dead when I came to light. The roar of the waves, raised by a gust announcing the autumn equinox, prevented my cries from hearing: I was often told these details .. ». It is also within this cathedral that his funerals took place on July 18, 1848.
In 1777, the family moved to the Château de Combourg,(see post) acquired a few years earlier by the father, René-Auguste de Chateaubriand. In this medieval fortress built in the 12C, the young Chateaubriand passed melancholic years.”It is the childhood he describes in his memories,” He describes an austere, melancholy childhood there. He has a gloomy memory. « It was in the Bois de Combourg that I became what I am.» he wrote, After spending his first years of life with a nanny in Plancouët, he returned to live in Saint-Malo with his mother and his 4 sisters in a very beautiful hotel in front of the city’s door (Le White at 4 place Saint-Vincent) which opens onto the road called the groove because it rises like the back of a furrow in the middle of the waves, He left this place at nine and was back in 1786. He was 18 years old
The Île Grand Bé island was his last trip, At low tide, from plage Bon-Secours beach, we can all access the famous Grand Bé where the tomb of Chateaubriand sits. Here is his last will: “No registration, nor name or date, the cross will say that the man resting at his feet was a Christian: that will be enough in my memory.” Since July 18, 1848, the author of the « Génie du Christianisme » or genius of Christianity has been based on this island and contemplates the emerald sea which accompanied it so much during his childhood. Since 1948, a plaque was affixed nearby: “a great French writer wanted to resume here, to hear only the sea and the wind, spending his last will”.
To finish this visit I invite you to go to the Casino Barriere (see post) to admire the statue Chateaubriand sculpted by Armel Beaufils (commanded by the State during the centenary of the death of Chateaubriand in 1948). I also invite you to read this quote from the writer that I particularly appreciate: “A traveler is a kind of historian; His duty is to faithfully tell what he has seen or what he heard; He must not invent anything but also he should not omit anything.» Wonderfully said by a great writer indeed,
Today, the city has many memories of Chateaubriand’s life. First the street where he was born, which bears his name. At the corner of this street, the imposing Hôtel France et Chateaubriand. During the war, it was requisitioned by the nazis, before serving as a rescue post for the liberation of the city, in August 1944. In the wooden shelves of the librairie Le Septentrion, Place Brevet, the old works of “l’enchanteur” or the Enchanter , as he was known. Also bear the name of the writer a theater, a college, a quay, a boulevard … If he was not received, although elected among the immortals of the l’Académie française, in 1811, because of a speech having displeased Napoleon, the writer’s memory remains solidly attached to the corsair city.
There is hope for his name to surface more !!! In November 2024 that the city of Saint-Malo will announce the team of architects, scenographers and design offices that can draw and create the future place of history of the city. The future maritime museum will then be born in the streets of Intra-Muros in 2028, symbolically integrating the historic building of the old École Nationale Supérieure Maritime or the national maritime superior school.
The city of Saint Malo on tourism in general: https://www.saint-malo.fr/accueil/sortir/tourisme/
The Saint Malo tourist office on the islands on Chateaubriand (Grand Bé): https://www.saint-malo-tourisme.co.uk/living-like-at-home/explorations/culture-heritage/access-the-forts-and-islets/
The Ille et Vilaine dept 35 tourist office on Saint malo: https://www.ille-et-vilaine-tourism.com/discover-ille-et-vilaine/the-loveliest-places/saint-malo/
There you go folks, all new for you and me in my blog, This is awesome and glad finally by it as he is one of my favorite writers of all , This is a place to stop by and know how all started with the help of the tourist office ,A wonderful spot to see indeed, me think, Sadly,not much in tourism written on this house or this writer, I give him credit here !!! Again, hope you enjoy this post on the Maison Natale de Chateaubriand in Saint Malo as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 