I am back to a memorable town just up the road from me, This is little but spread out Guern,a wonderful small town in my beautiful Morbihan 56 of my lovely Bretagne in my belle France. There is always pleasant to be riding deep in my beautiful department and see these wonderful small towns. Therefore, let me tell you about this is Guern !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The town of Guern is compose of several villages such as Quelven, Locmeltro, Saint Salomon ,Locrio, Boderel, Guermeur, and Saint Jean, All in rural areas, It is 12 km from Pontivy, 50 km from Lorient, 64 km from Vannes, and 38 km from my current home, We went up the D768 dir Pontivy until junction with the D1 road dir Saint Nicolas des Eaux continue it becomes the D2 same road until route de Quelven and the village chapel.
The Chapelle Notre Dame de Quelven at 2 Quelven village, Guern in 1451, Pope Nicholas V made the previous chapel, which had existed at least since 1401, a major place of indulgence, making it the most frequented place of pardon in Morbihan. The chapel, which had become too small and degraded by its frequentation, was rebuilt with the help of the Rohan and Rimaison families from 1470 to 1510. The size of a basilica and in flamboyant Gothic style, it has a plan in the shape of a Latin cross and its bell tower was the tallest in Brittany, before it collapsed in 1837 under the excessive weight of its bells. The bell tower was rebuilt in neo-Gothic style with the financial assistance of Louis-Philippe and Napoleon III. It is 28 meters long, 70 meters at the tip of its stone spire ,The atmosphere of the chapel is given by its stained glass windows which represent three periods: the very beginning of the 16C and the contemporary period. The whitewashed walls highlight the dark woodwork of the choir: stalls, altars, cathedra, pulpit: a high-quality neo-Gothic ensemble. The nave was completed around 1510, but the planned vault was replaced by a covering paneling in 1582 (date shown on the wall plates). The chapel underwent some restorations in the 17C. Two of the choir windows have fairly well-preserved 16C stained-glass windows, one representing the Tree of Jesse, the other the Virgin holding the Child, Saint Christopher (15C), and other holy figures. In the other windows, there are fragments of stained-glass windows where we see, among other things, the shields of the Rohans and Rimaisons. The stained-glass windows of the choir reproduce the Assumption of the Virgin, surrounded by Saint Anne and Saint Yves. The stained-glass window of the choir represents the twelve apostles. A wooden ex-voto model representing the ship “Notre Damme damour” dates from 1746, Four stone altars remain from the 15C and 16C, leaning against the nave piers. A fifth (16C) is located in a chapel. The rest of the original furnishings have disappeared, having been renewed several times, as has the choir woodwork, replaced in 1876 as part of a vast neo-Gothic renovation project that included the high altar and stalls. Rood screen or chancel balusters (16C), preserved in the sacristy, suggest that a structure of this type once separated the nave from the liturgical choir. The chapel has a Baroque organ; dated 1709. It has three keyboards in a two-body case in finely decorated polychrome oak and topped with statues of King David playing the harp, and musician angels. It is a perfect work of cabinetmaking as well as an instrument of very high quality, A silver-gilt chalice and ciborium, contemporary with this piece, still bear witness to the dynamism of the commission, which continued into the following century, with the addition of five confessionals, evidence of the large crowds on days of forgiveness. The Guern municipal council voted in 1838 and 1852 to install two plaques.”In 1838, during the reign of Louis-Philippe I, this tower was rebuilt with funds granted by the King, the Queen, the Duke of Orléans, Princess Adelaide, and the government, with sacrifices made by the town, and offerings from the faithful.” “In the year 1852, with HSH Prince Louis-Napoléon-Bonaparte as President of the Republic, work on this tower was resumed with funds granted by the Prince and his Government.” I need to be back here, eventually!
The fountain of Quelven, located at 16 Kersalous, Guern is Gothic from the 16C, located below at about 300 meters from the above chapel. It consists of two basins and whose water is said to have the power to cure sterile women and sick children.
The 15C Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul was rebuilt in 1788 after a fire, and restored in the 19C. The church served as a stable during the French revolution. The current church was completed between 1802 and 1827. It is flanked by a canopied porch on the south side. The baptismal font is on the north side. The church houses a polychrome wooden statue of Notre-Dame de Joie ,the “Nursing Virgin” dating from the 16C and coming from the chapel of Locmeltro. There is also a polychrome wooden statue of Saint Isidore and an oil on canvas representing a “Recumbent Christ”, the work of Eugène Vientejol and dating from 1898,
Other things to see here, me think are the columns or steles of Locmeltro: These stones are located inside the enclosure of the chapel of Locmeltro. They would have been moved and, in any case, Christianized at the latest in the middle of the 19C. The chapel of Saint-Jean (1585), probably rebuilt at the beginning of the 17C in the village of Locmeltro.
A bit of history I like tell us that Guern is mentioned as early as 1125 in the archives of Rohan. The parish of Guern encompasses the truce of Sourn and Locmeltro and is one of the 75 parishes and truces of the viscounty of Rohan. According to a confession of 1471, Guern is one of the 46 parishes or truces of the lordship of Rohan itself. In 1790, the parish was erected into a town of the canton of Melrand, district of Pontivy. In 1801, it was attached to the canton of Pontivy.
The town of Guern on its heritage : https://guern.fr/patrimoine/nos-villages/
The Morbihan dept 56 tourist office on the Chapelle Notre Dame : https://morbihan.com/a-voir-a-faire/suivez-le-guide/chapelle-notre-dame-de-quelven-guern-fr-4411920/
The Bretagne region tourist office on Guern (fr) : https://www.tourismebretagne.com/selon-mes-envies/culture-et-patrimoine-de-bretagne/les-communes-du-patrimoine-rural-de-bretagne/guern/
There you go folks, another dandy small town of Guern, worth the detour me think, I shall be back for more, eventually, Again, hope you enjoy the post on this is Guern as I.
And remember, happy travel, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 