Finistère department (29)
Prefecture : Quimper
Subprefectures : Brest, Châteaulin, Morlaix
Population : 890,000
Website : www.cg29.fr
Finistere is located at the western end of Birttany. It is surrounded to the north, west and south by the North Sea and the Atlantic ocean. Almost half (118) of its 283 towns are by the sea and with a 1,250-kms coastline, the department shelters a quarter of the total French coastline.
It is also an urban area, 70 pc of its inhabitants living around the two biggest towns, Brest (Pop 200,000) and Quimper (80,000). Its museums, castles and lighthouses tell the story of a peculiar department, the most maritime in France for sure. The natural heritage is also remarkable in the Armorique National Park or the famous Pointe du Raz. Bakeries, canneries, greenhouses and fish markets reflect an economic vitality at human level. From printing to the transformation of seaweed, from oyster farms to strawberry fields, Finistere is keeping old crafts alive.
Historically anchored in agriculture and fishing, Finistere has aso taken advantage of the works of its scientists to develop electronics, aeronautics and shipbuilding.
KM 32 : QUIMPERLÉ (Pop : 11.000)
At the confines of the Finistere, nested at the junction of rivers beneath hills watching over its historical quarter, Quimperle is a town to discover. The small port saw the light of day in the Roman times. The original town, dubbed Anaurot, was destroyed by the Vikings and it was revived in the 11th century with the foundation of the Ste Croix abbey. Since then, Quimperle played an active part in the history of the Duchy of Brittany. It was ravaged by Du Guesclin in the 14th century but rebuilt by the dukes. In the 17th century mansions and townhouses multiplied while convents and monasteries imposed their rule. At the Revolution, Quimperle was a big town with a population of 4,000 at the crossroads between Morbihan and Finistere. A subprefecture between 1800 and 1926, it became a major administrative and economic centre but the rail caused the downfall of the port. It also became a stronghold of Breton culture with writers like historian Dom Morice or poet Theodore Hersart de la Villemarqué. Painters and artists have also always been partial to its charms, while actress Sarah Bernhardt spent her childhood in town.
PLACES TO SEE
Ste Croix abbatial church
It was built at the end of the 11th century. The monument is remarkable for its size and its cross-shaped structure. Its tower collapsed in 1862 forcing part of the church t be destroyed and rebuilt identically. The cloister and the convent building are now occupied by the gendarmerie.
The Archers House
The beautiful townhouse built in 1550 houses historical exhibitions. Next door stands the oldest house in Quimperle, a former shop with its original stone counter.
Lothea chapel
Dating bacj to the 10th century, it collapsed in 1957 and has been restored in the 1990s.
KM 38,5 : MELLAC (Pop : 2,600)
Kernault manor
The 15th and 16th centuries were the age of manors in Brittany. Bigger than a house but smaller than a castle, manors were the heart of vast farmlands. Kernault is one of the most beautiful examples of the period. Its farmhouse and dependencies, including a chapel, reflect the wealth of its owners, who played a major part in the history of Mellac.
The manor has an exceptional 17th century cellar with a huge timber frame, a rare instance at the time in the area. It was ideal to store the crops from the lands of the manor.
KM 47,5 : SAINT-THURIEN (Pop : 800)
Saint-Thurien is the hometown of cycling pro Jean-Marc Bideau, who rides for team Bretagne-Schuller.
KM 58 : SCAËR (Pop : 5,200)
At the foot of Montagnes Noires (Black Mountains), Scaer is the vastest commune in Brittany, spanning over 12,000 ha. A pretty holiday resort, the land was once sung by poet Auguste Brizeux. Here, green tourism is more than just a formula with its 100 paths, its 600 ha of forest and its three rivers, Ster Goz, Aven and Isole. The town can also boast no less than eight chapels, megaliths, the menhir of St jean, the 10th biggest of its kind bur also wayside crosses, old bread ovens, windmills and wash-houses. Every odd year, Scaer organises a stamped with picturesque carriages.
PLACES TO SEE
The menhir of Saint-Jean
Seven metres tall, its is the 10th highest menhir in France and in the world. Now isolated, it once belonged to a megalithic complex spreading towards the village of Neuziou. Another six-metres long stone is lying 250 metres from the first one and a third monolith was mentioned in 1907 but is now gone.
Kergoaler manor
The Kergoaler manor was built in 1718 by est Jean Corentin du Couëdic de Kergoaler. A private property, it was built on the site of older castles dating back to Raoul de Couedic, the first local lord mentioned in 1370. In 1830, three towers and an aisle were added to the property.
KM 80 : LAZ (Pop : 750)
Form the Laz Signal (Alt: 240 m), the view is superb and spreads over the whole Aulne valley. The forest covers the Black Mountains and gives the area a mountaineering atmosphere by its vegetation and climate.
The village church was rebuilt by architect Isaac Roblon in 1729 and the tower completed in 1827. The church contains two exceptional altarpieces: the Rosary altar and the altar of the Trespassed. The Rosary altar is decorated with a painting of the naval battle of Lepante in 1571. That day, the Christian fleet, placed under the invocation of the Rosary, beat the Turks. The altar of the Trespassed is the most beautiful purgatory piece in Brittany. At its foot lie the red flames of hell, the mid-section is white with a few clouds while upper part is blue and hosts the Holy Trinity.
STORY OF A BRIGAND
In January 1592, after years roving in the St Brieuc region, brigand Guy Eder de la Fontenelle settled in the forest of Laz with 400 men. Thefts, robberies, rapes and arsons quickly exasperated the population. Francois Herve, a representative of the area complained to the Duke of Mercoeur. In March, 1592, La Fontenelle burst into a meeting held to discuss his capture and threatened to cut everybody’s throat. He was arrested but quickly released and in 1593, he even took the mighty fortress in Granec, which he made his camp. A thousand locals besieged the place, knowing the bandit was campaigning around Morlaix. Back overnight, he had 800 peasants killed. He was later found near Carhaix with another rogue, the scary captain Yves du Liscouet, who lost a hand in battle and had it replace by an iron one.
LES MONTAGNES NOIRES (BLACK MOUNTAINS)
The Montagnes noires are an east-west oriented range of hills in Brittany centred around the town of Gourin. They culminate in the peak of Roc de Toullaeron which attains a height of 326 m. Other significant peaks include Ar Menez (304m) and Montagne Noire (307m). They are composed from a range of Precambrian, Ordovician, Silurian and Devonian rocks forming a part of the Variscan orogen and include sandstones, quartzites and slates.
The hills form a part of the border between the départements of Finistère and Morbihan and just extend into Côtes-du-Nord.
KM 85,5 : ST GOAZEC (Pop : 700)
The Trevarez castle, dubbed the Pink castle, is one of the last castles built in France. It was built on the north flank of the Roc’h An Aotrou hill in the Black mountains at the turn of te 19th and 20th centuries by architect Walter-Andre Destaileur on request by James de Kerjegu, president of the Finistere department council. Kerjegu had all the latest commodities installed in the castle, central heating, hot water on every floor, toilets and a lift. He died soon after completion of the works and his daughter lived in the castle with her husband, marquis de la Ferronays. In 1941, the castle was taken over by the Germans and was bombed by Allied forces in 1944. Bought by the department in 1968, it was restored along with its beautiful gardens. Made of granite and brick, it was selected for the 1904 World Fair in Chicago.
The Castel-Ruffel gallery grave was built in the Neolithic. A local legend says that the stones were thrown by a giant living in the local castle at his daughter, as she was fleeing with the servant who seduced her.
KM 93 : SPÉZET (Pop : 1,900)
Spezet lies in the very heart of the Finistere between the Black mountains and the Nantes to Brest canal. Its name is drawn from old Breton Spethtud meaning “the place where red currents grow”. The name appeared for the first time in 1216. Traces of an ancient past remain: several dolmens and the ruins of gallo-roman villas, fortified camps and Gaul fortresses. An Iron Age underground was also discovered during recent works. The village history is marked by several protests by peasants against their lords. Almost every century, a major revolt was recorded, the last in 1824. Like many Finistere communities, Spezet resented the 1905 bill separating the State form the Church while WWI hit hard, killing 197 men.
Spezt retains several traces from its past from its menhirs to its manor-houses, its grave gallery or the remarkable Crann chapel.
PLACES TO SEE
The Krann chapel
Built in 1535, the small architectural jewel houses one of the oldest stained glass composition of the 16th century and two magnificent multi-coloured altars form the same period. The chapel is also known for its butter pardon celebration taking place on the trinity Sunday. On the occasion, a butter slab is exposed on the St Laurent altar. In the past, three butter slabs representing the three parts of Spezet were on display.
Botanic garden of the Black Mountains
Created in 1995, the botanic garden of the Black mountains is conceived as a live catalogue of the local species. It is especially dedicated to conifers.
KM 102,5 : GOURIN (Pop : 4,200)
At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, Gourin was marked by a strong wave of emigration to the United States. A lot of Bretons now living in America originate from Gourin. As soon as 1928, there were some 3,000 Gourin-born New Yorkers, 400 of them working for a Michelin tyre factory established in 1901. A second wave of emigration took place in the 1950s. Between 1946 and 1955, 747 inhabitants left for America (13.4 pc of the population at the time). Three agencies had their headquarters in Gourin or Doudouallec to organise the flow of emigration. A replica of the Statue of the Liberty stands in the centre square to celebrate these links. Gourin is also the hometown of the family of singer Alan Stivell, who lived for a long time in the nearby village of Langonnet. Rider Florian Guillou (Bretagne Sculler) lives here.
PLACE TO SEE
Tronjoly castle
It was built in 1768 on the spot an old manor and its aisle was rebuilt at the end of the 18th century after it burnt down. The castle lies in the middle of a 20 ha park, crossed by a stream and a pond. The name Tronjoly comes from Breton Traon Joliff meaning “beautiful valley”. The first castle was the property of the Kergoet family from 1426 to 1669 before passing on to the Lescoets. At the death of the last family member in 1984, the town of Gourin bought the place. On the frontispiece beneath the bell, a motto goes: “I ring on the call of duty.”
KM 116 : LANGONNET (Pop : 1,900)
Notre-Dame de Langonnet abbey was founded in 1136 by Conan III a, duke of Brittany. Bishop of Cornwall Raoul was buried in it in 1158. In 1170, Duke Conan IV gave the monks several neighbouring villages close to the Carnoet forest to establish a community.
In 1595, the monks were ousted from the abbey during the Wars of Religion. They returned in1598 but the abbey was in ruins and locals lors had seized most of the lands. It was partly rebuilt in the 17th century. The chapter house is the only part left from the 13th century abbey. The abbey is composed of an abbatial church, a cloister and a chapter house. The friars were expelled at the Revolution and Napoleon replaced them by horses in 1806, creating the first stud farm in Brittany. The building was handed back to monks in 1857. Its is now a east-home for aged missionaries and houses a museum of African art.
