The Château de Comper of Concoret !!!

Posted in Bretagne, France

I came into a picture found in my cd rom vault on this wonderful castle, and they should be in my blog for you and me. The village of Concoret is located in my beautiful Morbihan department no 56 in my lovely Bretagne, in my belle France., Therefore, here is my take on the Château de Comper of Concoret !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I,

The village of Concoret is located in my beautiful Morbihan department no 56 in my lovely Bretagne, in my belle France. The village is situated on the edge of the Paimpont Forest and, although part of the Morbihan department, is almost completely surrounded by the Ille-et-Vilaine department no 35. Away from major road traffic, Concoret is mainly served by the D2 road, which comes from Mauron and passes by the Château de Comper, before heading towards Saint-Malon-sur-Mel, known as the D37 in Ille-et-Vilaine. However, the D773d road crosses the village coming from Paimpont and heads Gaël. It is 7 km from Paimpont ,27 km from Ploërmel, 53 km from Rennes, 74 km from Vannes, and 89 km from my current home, We went on the N24 to Josselin taking the D16 and by Mauron taking the D2 to Concoret.

The idea to come here was the Château de Comper located near the Paimpont Forest, 3 km of the village of Concoret. Originally a medieval fortified castle enjoying an enviable strategic position thanks to the protection offered by the vast pond and the forest that surround it, it has undergone various destructions and reconstructions throughout its history. It passed into the hands of the barons of Gaël-Montfort, Laval, Rieux, Coligny and La Trémoille. Dismantled in 1598 on the orders of Henry IV, it burned down during the French revolution. Few traces remain of its feudal parts, the Renaissance-style manor having been rebuilt as a dwelling in the 19C. It is the only one of the five castles historically linked to the Paimpont Forest ,and therefore to the Arthurian legend, that survives to this day. Several legends make it the birthplace and residence of the fairy Viviane.

A bit of history of the Château de Comper I like tell us that by the mid-19C, only ruins of the castle remained, the split tower, the fire-blackened ruins of such picturesque effect, on the western edge of the vast Paimpont forest. The stately home, a double Renaissance manor house dating from the 15C and burned down in 1790, notable for its many chimneys and timber framing, was restored in the 19C and rebuilt at the end of the same century. By 2010, there is now little trace of the medieval fortress, apart from the ramparts surrounding the manor, two curtain walls, the postern gate and a large tower, known as the Tour Gaillarde , Only one road provides access to the site. The first written records of the castle date back to 868, when it is said that Solomon, King of Brittany, lived in the “Château de Campie.” Subsequently, the Barons of Gaël-Montfort claimed possession of it. From the 13C onward, Comper was considered one of the strongest positions in Upper Brittany. In 1370, the castle was ravaged by Bertrand Du Guesclin, and in 1375 or 1376, repairs and new construction were carried out, as it had suffered both from Du Guesclin’s armies and from the Wars of Succession. At the beginning of the 15C, it became the fiefdom of the Laval family. On June 9, 1525, Anne de Montmorency, the second wife of the Count of Laval, died in childbirth at the castle. In the 16C, the castle passed into the hands of the Rieux family and then to the Coligny family.

The most famous episode in the history of the Château de Comper is a five-month siege, which took place during the Wars of the Catholic League, between the supporters of the King of France Henry IV and the Breton League, Philip Emmanuel of Lorraine going to the aid of Comper with the Spanish, the siege was abandoned by the royalists and by Saint-Luc, lieutenant of Jean d’Aumont who had regained command of the army. The Breton League, however, ended up losing the castle four months later, on October 10, 1595, after a long resistance. The castle suffered the agrarian unrest of 1790 and, on January 28, 1790, a revolutionary party burned the western half of the central building. What remained of it gradually fell into ruins and in the mid-19C belonged to Madame the Duchess of Narbonne. The Renaissance-style manor house, which forms the living area, was rebuilt in the 19C by Armand de Charette, whose initials appear on the fireplace in the castle’s great hall. Since 1990, the estate has gone from history to legend, as the castle houses the exhibitions of the Centre de l’imaginaire arthurien, where many events take place and is open throughout the summer. Having become “the most Arthurian castle in France”, it is private, but access to the courtyard and the area around the pond is possible for a modest toll, a little higher if you wish to visit the exhibitions at the centre.

Other things to see here are the Guillotin oak located on the edge of the Paimpont forest. Its age is estimated at over 1,000 years, it is 15 meters high and its circumference was 9.51 meters in 2000. Its name comes from Pierre-Paul Guillotin, a refractory priest who found refuge in Concoret in 1791. He hid in the trunk of the tree, which can hold a dozen persons. Legend has it that when he found refuge there, Notre Dame of Paimpont came down to earth transformed into a spider, and wove a web to block the entrance to the trunk and thus make the priest’s presence invisible. The Church Saint-Laurent, dedicated to Saint Laurent, but also under the patronage of Notre Dame of Concord, who appears on the church’s large stained-glass window; It was built in 1903, replacing the old 15C church. The Château Rox built in purple schist, one of the pavilions probably dates from the 16C, the other buildings are from the 18C, and the chapel was built in the 19C, It is a private property.

The village of Concoret on its heritage : https://concoret.fr/Culture-et-patrimoine

The official Centre de l’Imaginaire Arthurien du Château de Comper : https://www.broceliande-centre-arthurien.com/

The local Broceliande tourist office on the Centre de l’Imaginaire Arthurien du Château de Comper: https://tourisme-broceliande.bzh/en/activite/centre-de-limaginaire-arthurien/

This is indeed a magical land of pure nature and story telling for old and young. The castle is an integral part of the village and the Arthurian legend, and worth a detour, me think. Again, hope you enjoy this post on the Château de Comper of Concoret !!! 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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