Curiosities of Morlaix, part II !!!

Posted in Bretagne, France

I am back in lovely Morlaix in the 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 this wonderful trip, bringing 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 curiosities of Morlaix, part II !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.

.In 1128, Hervé II, viscount of Léon, gave the abbey of Marmoutiers its village of Bourret, near Morlaix, with the chapels of Saint-Augustin and the Madeleine. The parish which depended on the order of Saint-Benoît was very extensive. At the time of the concordat it was again returned to worship and “the altar of white marble, spotted with reddish cupboards which had been deposited with the citizen Le Bozec, with the two angels of white Carrara marble, of a rather fine work” resumed their former place in the choir. The Church Saint-Martin only dates from the 18C, its overall plan is a Latin cross ending in a semicircle both at the apse and at the ends of the transept, where we notice steps or angles which gracefully complicate the laidout.

 

The Battle of Morlaix is a battle of the Sixth War of Italy which took place on July 22, 1522 in Morlaix. Count Guy XVI of Laval falls on the last he finds arrested in a wood near the sea, cuts them in pieces and takes back the booty they had seized He makes such carnage, that a nearby fountain, reddened that day with the blood of enemies, received and keeps the name of Feunteun ar Saozon, fountain of the Saxons or the English ; better known locally as the fontaine des Anglais or English. The fountain is located in Cours Beaumont, at the entrance to a small garden, opposite the tabac factory.

The Morlaix museum can be visited on two sites, Les Jacobins and the Maison à Pondalez.. The first, Les Jacobins, in place of an old 13C convent, is the original site of the municipal museum c1887. It now houses works from the museum’s collection and temporary exhibitions. The Maison à Pondalez, dating from the 16C, impresses the visitor with its monumental granite fireplace, its spiral staircase, which serves the rooms on the street side, as well as its wooden passages or pondalez which give access to the rooms on the courtyard side. This part of the museum presents the history of the city of Morlaix on four levels.

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. 

 

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 !!!

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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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