The Château du Taureau of Carantec !!

Posted in Bretagne, France

The town of Carantec is in the department of Finistère no 29 of my lovely region of Bretagne in my belle France. This is one of those trips on my local road warrior mode , and glad was done. So many wonders in my Brittany alone. Let me tell you about a castle off mainland but worth the detour me think. Therefore, let me tell you a bit on the Château du Taureau of Carantec !! Hope you enjoy the post as I.

The Château du Taureau castle is an island-fortress that depends administratively on the town of Plouezoc’h. It was built by the bourgeois of Morlaix in 1542 to defend the entrance to the Rivière de Morlaix from English invasions. The best view and access ,however, is from Kélenn beach in Carantec to the castle, a rock in the sea !

 The Château du Taureau  is a fort renovated by Vauban and later by Amédée François Frézier between 1690 and 1745 on a rocky islet in the open sea. Regardless of the tidal coefficient, it is not never walkable, only by boat.  After having been a prison, the castle became a second home owned by Mélanie Lévêque de Vilmorin who gave lavish receptions there in the 1930s, then a sailing school in the 1960s, before being abandoned for a time. and to close its doors in 1980, for lack of maintenance. Restored by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Morlaix and nine neighboring towns,

This Breton fort can be easily visited again by boat from Carantec. When docking, a staircase bathed by the waves and a drawbridge provide access; you can see the old rooms where the troop was housed, dungeons and vaulted vaults. From the upper platform, the panorama extends over the entire Bay of Morlaix.  In 1520, following the failure of the meeting at the Camp du Cloth d’Or, relations between the kingdoms of France and England deteriorated and led to a rapprochement between the latter and the Spain of Charles V. Thus, in 1522, an English fleet attacked Cherbourg then headed for Morlaix where it arrived in early July. Following this event, it was decided to build a fort in the bay of Morlaix. For three centuries, the Château du Taureau has been a key player in the history of Brittany and France. It ceased to fulfill its military role in 1878 and was decommissioned in 1883. In 1889, the beacon was permanently extinguished. the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Morlaix, after conducting significant historical research on the castle, has chosen a museographic orientation focusing on daily life in the Château du Taureau in the 18C.

The official Castle of Taureau : https://chateaudutaureau.bzh/

The local Bay of Morlaix tourist office on the castle: https://www.baiedemorlaix.bzh/en/discover/all-aboard-for-brittanys-alcatraz/

There you go folks, a nice quant coastal town ,this is wonderful Carantec, a real find. One of the highlights of living in the peninsula of Brittany surrounded by water, the city is just about 2h10 min from my house ! Again, hope you enjoy the post on the Château du Taureau of Carantec !! 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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