I have a lot of posts on my wonderful capital City of Vannes in my blog. In my quest to have more from my latest road warrior or rather walking warrior trip to the city for you and me, the memories of always ,The city has a gorgeous original architecture untouched by wars with a wonderful canal into the Gulf of Morbihan, one of the most beautiful harbors in the world (conde nast, great bays etc) which of course takes you into the Atlantic ocean, all full of islands paradise. Let me bring you up to date on Vannes,in my beautiful Morbihan dept 56 of my lovely Bretagne and in my belle France. Therefore, here is my take on the streets of Vannes , part IV !!! Hope you enjoy it as I.
The Place des Lices,(see post) formerly Place de la Réunion, is the main public square in downtown Vannes . It hosts a bi-weekly market and is surrounded by shops. It is an elongated and sloping space, with an irregular plan, extending into the historic center of Vannes. It communicates to the north with the Cathedral St Pierre (see post) by rue de la Monnaie and to the south with the port by rue Saint-Vincent and porte Saint-Vincent (see post). It is also in direct contact with the Place du Poids Public and with the ramparts. The square is about 200 meters long, with an average width of 25 meters.
The Place Saint Pierre square has a few old houses adjoining La Cohue (fine arts museum), opposite the St Peter’s Cathedral (see posts). La Cohue designating the old partly Romanesque halls, remains dating from the 16C. The ground floor was occupied by the stalls of merchants, mostly butchers and the first floor reserved for courts of law. The Parliament of Brittany sat there when it was exiled to Vannes. In the last century, a theater occupied the first floor which now houses the museum. At No. 9 Place Saint Pierre is one of the oldest houses in the city, recognizable by its many small windows, testimonies of civil architecture from the beginning of the 15C. Of course, the must visit in town is that here you have the Cathédrale Saint Pierre (see posts) or St Peter’s Cathedral built in the 13C-15-16C-19C.
The Place Henri-IV is a square located in the inner city on the heights of the Mené hill. It communicates with the Place Saint-Pierre and the St Peter’s Cathedral,(see post) and to the rue Saint-Salomon (see post) and to the rue des Chanoines and the rue Émile-Burgault. The square measures about 20 meters per side, or an area of about 400 m2.
You have the picturesque Rue Saint Guénhaël, where at No 17 Rue Saint Guénhaël you can see one of the oldest houses in Vannes. Almost six centuries old!! The house was built on a much older cellar probably remaining from an earlier building. This cellar is shared with house at No. 19 and could date back to the 12C or 13C. The first campaign concerns the ground floor and the first floor and possibly dates back to the second half of the 14C, as can be seen from the upstairs windows as well as the arcades on the ground floor. On the first floor, two blocked doors, as well as strong projecting consoles on the east wall seem to be the traces of an old corbelled raceway. Perhaps at the end of the 16C, the house was raised by one floor, eliminating the passage. The attic seems to have been built in the 19C. The staircase and most of the interior fittings disappeared in the 20C, with iron or wood reinforcements re-joining the structure. Another nice one at No 23 Rue Saint Guénhaël is on the ground floor or 1st floor the Crêperie Saint-Guenhaël. The house was built in the 15C according to its architectural characteristics and mentioned in the archives of 1455 as well as in the archives of the reformation of the estate in 1677. Its L-shaped plan does not seem original and it is likely that the house was made the object of a posterior and perpendicular extension including the previous house from the rear.
The wonderful medieval street full of shops. Right next to the Cathedral there is rue des Chanoines with more wooden houses taking you to the ramparts of Vannes! As in several , see the house at 28 Rue des Chanoines rebuilt in the second half of the 19C on the site of an ancient house at the end of the 18C and probably corresponding to the house built in the second half of the 15C. This house says the “little bishopric” gave the cathedral from the episcopal palace. The house, back in relation to the other buildings on the street, takes up the alignment plan of 1840. See the 16 Rue des Chanoines old house reported in the rentier of the ducal estate of 1455-1458, The archives of the reformation of the estate report it in 1677 as belonging to Jeanne de Talhouët: the absence of an interior visit does not allow to date this house 17C, the facade dating back more likely in the 18C according to the shape of the openings and the absence of a cantilevement. At 1 rue des Chanoines house rebuilt in the very beginning of the 17C in 1602 (date on the lateral wall) on the site of an older house reported in the rentier in the ducal estate of 1455-1458 ,The spiral staircase with day watch modifications; its departure was completed by a right volley going up according to the balusters in the 17C. The decor of the pedestals of the fireplace on the ground floor is from Renaissance period, which corresponds to the date carried on the lateral wall; On the other hand, the lintel is modern. See the wonderful historical breton library of Lenn ha Dilenn at 12 rue des Chanoines.
The Pont de la Tannerie,by 27 rue de la Tannerie (site of my dog Rex hair saloon) ,on the hill of Boismoreau where the city of Haut-Empire developed. The site is located along an ancient route (current rue de la Tannerie), below and at equal distance from the forum site and that of the no 10 rue de la Tannerie if we continue the curvature of the wall in a regular way , a semicircle is obtained 82 meters in diameter.It could be kept about 3.20 meters high and should reach about 2 meters wide in its lower part. Finally, traces of an occupation between the end of the Middle Ages and the modern era have been highlighted in the north of the public building on the corner. It is essentially a succession of traffic levels and some isolated structures. These vestiges may be linked to the activity of tanners’ workshops that develops in the sector from the end of the Middle Ages. Therefore, call the rue de la Tannerie.
The Rue du Maréchal Leclerc , a wonderful walk with plenty of architecture to see at 59 rue du Maréchal Leclerc ;the house was probably built at the end of the 19C. This house occupies part of the courtyard, the space reserved for a building and the house of the cabaretier of the old Coriquel tannery, all overlooking the street 51 rue du Maréchal Leclerc the building is dated 1882 the building established in the large Quennec garden. The ground floor has been transformed. At 30, 32 rue du Maréchal Leclerc ,the building was built in 1889-1890 This elevation shows that the stores on the ground floor were planned from the outset. 2 square stages in alignment on the track with a sort of courtyard at the bottom of the plot.
The city of Vannes on the Place Henri IV: https://www.mairie-vannes.fr/place-henri-iv
The City of Vannes on the Place des Lices :https://www.mairie-vannes.fr/place-des-lices
The City of Vannes on rue Saint Guénhaël :https://www.mairie-vannes.fr/maisons-17-et-19-rue-saint-guenhael
The city of Vannes on its heritage: https://www.mairie-vannes.fr/architecture-et-patrimoine
The local Gulf of Morbihan tourist office on Vannes: https://www.golfedumorbihan.co.uk/explore/meet-the-exceptionnal/visit-vannes/
The Morbihan dept 56 tourist office on Vannes: https://morbihan.com/decouvrir/le-morbihan-et-ses-perles-bretonnes/destination-golfe-du-morbihan/vannes-entre-art-et-histoire/
There you go folks, we are in Vannes; la vie en rose or la vie est belle! Salut. One bit of up close and personal post of daily life in my neck of the woods. We take the road warrior approach seriously and are on the move every day not all posts, This is one post for the memories of always, Again, hope you enjoy this post on the streets of Vannes , part IV !!! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 