I am back in lovely Morlaix north of me in department Finistére no 29 of my lovely Bretagne in my belle France. I have written before on the city of course, and just came back from another visit. This is my post of a wonderful trip, and bring back memories of my family’s visits over the years,The city is 58 km from Brest, 85 km from Saint Brieuc, 38 km from Lannion, and 143 km from my house, I like to tell you again on the curiosities of Morlaix, part II !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The city is famous for its viaduc built in 1861 in the city center/downtown which is given the nickname of the “City of Viaduct”. It is located and best seen from the place des otages. Its construction ends in 1864. The demolition of the houses required for its construction resulted in the erasing of most of the houses in Pondalez and porches (stilt houses and three or four-storey buildings along the harbour) in the remaining houses demolished between 1880 and 1907, the last in 1969. The 19C granite Viaduc for the Paris-Brest railway line. majestic piece of granite from the Île Grande was built from 1861 to 1864 during the construction of the Paris-Brest line. The result is prodigious: 292 meters long, 58 meters high, 14 arches and 9 poles, 11 000 m3 of stones… The Rennes-Brest line was inaugurated in 1865.
Already 161 years old, this is the emblematic monument of the city of Morlaix. The viaduc will be able to benefit from a complete cleaning. The 58 -meter -high operation will be rid of the dirt accumulated since 1989, the date of its last cleaning. This is ongoing and huge tubes along the road to extract the dust.
An important historical heritage of the city of Morlaix, at the origin of its growth in the 15-16C, it is today a pleasant pleasure port welcoming more than two hundred boats thanks to its lock and its valves. It, also, extends along the left bank of the Morlaix river At the end of the 15C, after Nantes and Saint-Malo,the port of Morlaix was the third port of Brittany, a notoriety that will cause a siege of city bag by the English on July 4, 1522. Reconstrued, the city will now be protected by a tower raised at the entrance to the port called in Breton Penn and the old Château du Taureau defending the entrance to the river. Right bank, the Quai de Tréguier was built with a set of houses forming a covered passage, the Lances, today gone. At the end of the platform, the Penanault tower has grown into an urban manor specializing in wines trading. Downstream, the shore was arranged on a towpath in 1772. The Left bank, the quay of Léon, first occupied by a habitat of seafarers, was built from the 18C of a succession of mansions. The construction of the tobacco factory in 1740 requires the extension of the quays. The tobacco leaf balls from the Americas are landed for transformation by a thousand workers.
The manufacture des Tabacs one of the oldest in France, was built originally in 1689 , and done in four stages: the main buildings, subdivided into three groups (manufacture, stores, logis) were later built between 1736 and 1740, Today, it houses the SEW project which stands for : The S for the cinema La Salamandre, the E & the C for the Entresort/Centre National pour la Création Adaptée and the W de Wart, producer of contemporary music and organizer of the Panoramas festival.
The City of Morlaix on the Viaduc :https://www.ville.morlaix.fr/VIVRE-A-MORLAIX/Tourisme/Patrimoine-culturel/Le-viaduc
The City of Morlaix on its port : https://www.ville.morlaix.fr/VIVRE-A-MORLAIX/Tourisme/Patrimoine-culturel/Le-port
The pleasure marinas of the Bay of Morlaix on the port of Morlaix: https://plaisancehautfinistere.bzh/en/port-of-morlaix/
The local Bay of Morlaix Tourist office on Morlaix: https://www.baiedemorlaix.bzh/en/your-stay/morlaix/
The Bretagne region tourist office on Morlaix: https://www.brittanytourism.com/destinations/the-10-destinations/pink-granite-coast-morlaix-bay/morlaix/
There you go folks, blending architecture, and history all under one roof at Morlaix. This is a wonderful city that should be visited, and we did again, Do read/see my other post on the city in my blog, Again, hope you enjoy the post on the curiosities of Morlaix, part II !!! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 