And out we went again yesterday to see our glorious capital City of Vannes ! Always an adventure back in time full of architecture and history I like, We had to do some errands and in the area with time we did our walk again, and would like to tell you again about some of the beautiful spots in Vannes that have written before but these are pictures from this week, For reference, this is the capital City of the beautiful dept 56 Morbihan, and in my lovely region of Bretagne of my belle France ! Let’s go into my curiosities of Vannes !!! Part II .Hope you enjoy it as I
The Tour Connetable or Constable’s Tower,was built in the first half of the 15C, is a building integrated into the ramparts of Vannes. Despite its fortified aspect, resolutely turned towards the defense of the city, and although the tower has artillery casemates in the lower room, the initial purpose of the Constable’s tower was to house the commander of the armies of the Duke of Brittany . His name therefore comes from his function, the most illustrious representative of which was Arthur III of Brittany, known as “the Constable of Richemont”, Constable of France and Duke of Brittany.
The Tour Poudriére or Powder Tower was refitted in the second half of the 15C on the foundations of an old 12C tower. This tower with artillery casemates (two gunboats served by a straight staircase and a return) was used at the end of the Middle Ages as a powder reserve, which earned it its name powder magazine. Part of the curtain wall between the Joliette and Poudrière towers is the only section to be permanently accessible to the public, the entrance being on rue des Vierges.
The Château de l’Hermine was a small fortified castle integrated into the ramparts of the city of Vannes. The castle was the main residence of the Dukes of Brittany between the end of the 14C and the 15C. Ruined then dismantled in the 17C, it was replaced during the 18C by a private mansion , the Hôtel Lagorce, The current building as the hotel dates from 1785 , Acquired by the State in 1876 to house the Artillery School of the XIth Army Corps, the building underwent modifications. From 1960 to 1974, the hotel housed the General Treasury of the department of Morbihan. In 1976, it became the property of the city of Vannes, which assigned it to the Law School of Morbihan and then to various associative and cultural activities, including the Cultural Institute of Brittany. A few years ago, the Law School joined the campus and the City/town hall set up two large exhibition halls on the ground floor of the hotel.This cultural orientation continues today awaiting other duties.
The Cathédrale Saint Pierre or St Peter’s Cathedral is the seat of the diocese of Vannes, it also bears the title of minor basilica. Gothic in style, it stands on the site of the former Romanesque cathedral. Its construction spanned five centuries, from the 15C to the 19C, and if we include the lifespan of the Romanesque bell tower preserved from the old church, we arrive at a construction period of seven centuries. As a whole, the cathedral remains, despite everything, faithful to the old Romanesque and includes a nave accompanied by ten side chapels, a transept with unequal arms, a choir wrapped in an ambulatory and two axial chapels in a row. Official webpage: https://www.cathedrale-vannes.fr/index.php/fr/
The église Saint Patern or St Patern’s Church is located at rue de la Fontaine and rue Saint-Patern. The church was built on the existing foundations of a much older church, which held the relics of Saint Patern (the first bishop of Vannes). The original church had been built in the 11C and had replaced the another church which had suffered damage at the hands of Norman invaders at the turn of the 9-10C. Given the presence in the church of some bone fragments of Saint Patern, a visit to the church was one of the seven stages of this pilgrimage so popular in the Middle Ages, the task for the pilgrim was to visit the tombs of the seven founding saints of Brittany, the ancient bishops Brieuc, Malo, Samson, Corentin, Pol, Tugwal and Patern in Vannes, The “Tro Breiz” has recently regained some popularity and pilgrims, hikers and enthusiasts of Breton history are again seeking out the old pilgrim pathways. See belltower in below picture. Official webpage: https://www.saint-patern.bzh/un-peu-d-histoire
The préfecture of Morbihan is the capital of the department of Morbihan (56). It houses the prefect and the services of the prefecture. Inaugurated in 1865 under Napoleon III, the new prefecture of Morbihan is built on the site of the former Jacobin convent very close to the Saint-Patern district. This building, built on a U-shaped plan, is similar to the Louis XIII style with its body 30 meters wide. The decor of the pediment refers to the Empire (imperial eagle) and Breton history with representations of Nominoë, Count of Vannes, and Alain Barbetorte, two heroes of Breton independence. The Hôtel de la Préfecture as officially known is surrounded by a five-hectare park. Most of it is made up of an English garden designed in 1862 by Louis-Sulpice Varé, landscape architect from Paris, author of the Bois de Boulogne. Placed below the archives wing, a French garden of 5,000 m2 was redesigned in 1975. And we metered parked here easy !
Le parc de la Garenne or jardin de la Garenne or the Garenne’ gardens is considered the oldest in the city. In the 12C, the land of the park became the property of the Saint-Gildas de Rhuys Abbey (see post) , which endowed it with the Saint-Guen priory. Thanks to an exchange of land, it became the property of Duke Jean IV in the 1380s. After the union of Brittany with France (1532) , it became the property of the kings of France, who then left its use to the captains and governors of the city. After having ceded, in 1569, a portion to the Saint-Nicolas hospital, then in 1635, the northern lands (today occupied by the Hôtel de Préfecture and its gardens, see above) to the Dominicans to establish a convent there, only the top of the Garenne and its slopes towards the city remain in the royal domain. The western boundary walls and monumental staircase were erected in 1749, The work thus ensured ended on December 3, 1753 when the park was completed, Here is a sad episode in the history of Brittany (see posts) The Breton immigrants coming from England to fight the French revolution were captured around Quiberon and sentenced at Auray, some of the leaders of the Quiberon landing were shot in the park on July 28, 1795, The war memorial to the fallen was inaugurated in the center of the park in 1923 as the city’s war memorial. It is composed of a large column surmounted by a winged victory. Four lion heads flank the corners. The tomb of an anonymous resistant was dug at the foot of this column in 1945 and four stelae bearing the names of the victims of WWII were inaugurated there in 1947.
Below the above you have the Jardin des Remparts or Ramparts’ garden at the foot of the ramparts wall of Vannes, It is a must during a visit to Vannes. Indeed, this French-style garden open since the 1950s, Over the seasons, the garden of the ramparts evolves and is adorned with magnificent colors for our greatest pleasure. The garden is bounded to the west by the ramparts of the old town, to the south by rue de la Porte-Poterne and to the east by la Marle iver ,and rue Francis-Decker. The garden covers an area of approximately 15,000 m2 and requires the planting and maintenance of 30,000 flowers every year. A playground covers the northern part of it, on the side of the Portr Prison gate (see post),The ramparts of Vannes are fortifications erected between the 3C and 17C to protect the city.
The Lavoir de la Garenne or Garenne washhouses are a former public washhouse, very close to the ramparts. Originally dating from the 17-18C, these washhouses were actually built between 1797 and 1807. To cope with the influx of washerwomen, they were enlarged twenty years later, between 1827 and 1831, It became private property, and were acquired by the City/town hall of Vannes in 1928. Laundry in the dirty waters of the Marle river was prohibited by the city in 1951. The washing machines then fell back on other washhouses located upstream, close to the prefecture in washhouses opened between 1923 and 19652, or at the Etang au Duc, or lake of dukes until 1962, The Le Marle, “the river of Vannes” ensured its water supply before mixing with the Gulf waters. In the heyday, the washerwomen used to come here to do their laundry.
The history of Vannes cinema begins with a first fixed cinema as we know them today, created two years before WWI or Great War in France It was in 1919 that the cinema of La Garenne opened, founded by Father Jean-Marie Guillaume, The cinema opened as such in 1925, The father was a drawing teacher at the Collége Saint-François-Xavier or middle school in a former patronage room called the Saint-François room belonging to the Saint-François Xavier middle school. The school is still in Vannes today ! As the cinema quant historical nice and beautiful facing the Château de l’Hermine !
There you go folks, a wonderful walk around a beautiful City that needs to be visit more by tourist to my belle France, Vannes or Gwened in the local Breton langauge is a must to visit me think, Again, hope you have enjoy this latest forays into the City by yours truly and my curiosities of Vannes !!! Part II as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
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