Page 126 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Brittany

124  BRIT T AN Y REGION B Y REGION

Exploring Morlaix

Morlaix sadly lost much of its character when, in 1897, its docks
were filled in and covered by two squares, the Place des Otages
and Place Cornic. Efforts are now being made to make the town
more vibrant and to renovate the historic quayside buildings –
mansions with dormer windows and houses with pondalez
(spiral staircases) – that merchants built in a more prosperous
age. Pleasure boats are the only vessels that now tie up in the
harbour, as, with the closure of the tobacco-processing plant, it
is now devoid of the ships that once serviced that industry. The
resulting loss of 2,000 jobs has forced Morlaix, the third-largest Stained-glass window in
town in the Finistère, to seek prosperity in other industries. the Église St-Mathieu

P Maison de la
Duchesse Anne
33 Rue du Mur. Tel (02) 98 88 23 26.
Open May–Sep: Mon–Sat, Sun pm
(and Sun pm Jul–Aug). Closed Oct–
Apr, public holidays. &
This house, one of several in the
region where Anne of Brittany is
reputed to have stayed, consists
of three sections, the central part
with a monumental chimney
piece rising the full height of
the building. The house also has
a stair case known as a pondalez.
This is a spiral staircase that, by
means of a walkway, allows
Timber-framed and slate-clad houses in Morlaix access to the rooms in the
different parts of the house.
R Église St-Melaine history, painting inspired by
Rue Ange-de-Guernisac. Brittany, and contemporary art.
Tel (02) 98 88 05 65. Not all of the collection can be
Built in the Flamboyant Gothic displayed at the same time, so
style by the Beaumanoirs and exhibits are regularly changed.
completed in 1489, St-Melaine Pieces from the permanent
is the oldest church in Morlaix. collection are also alternated
As well as an organ built by with temporary exhibits.
Thomas Dallam in 1682, it
contains painted wooden R Église St-Mathieu Windows of the Maison
statues of saints and has fine Rue Basse. Tel (02) 98 88 05 65. de la Duchesse Anne
16th-century beams carved This church, rebuilt in 1824,
with plant motifs, angels, is notable for its tower, one P La Maison à Pondalez
animals, including ermines of the earliest examples of the 9 Grand’Rue. Tel (02) 98 88 68 88.
(emblem of Anne of Brittany) Renaissance style in Brittany, Open Oct–Jun: Tue–Sat; Jul–Sep: daily.
and, amusingly, caricatures of and for the curious statue that & 8
prominent people of the time. it contains. Made in about 1390 The house at No.9 Grand’Rue is
in a workshop in Westphalia, it another 16th-century residence
E Les Jacobins depicts the Virgin and Child but with a pondalez staircase,
Place des Jacobins. Tel (02) 98 88 opens to reveal the Holy profusely carved, and a
68 88. Open Oct–Jun: Tue– Trinity. It is especially monumental granite fireplace.
Sat; Jul–Sep: daily. & 8 precious since most The windows were designed
The main collection of such statues were to allow merchants to display
the Musée de Morlaix is destroyed after the their wares.
housed at La Maison à Council of Trent (1563): The main collection of the
Pondalez, but here, in a theologians feared that Musée de Morlaix is found here
former convent founded they might give rise to (the other is at Les Jacobins). On
in the 13th century, is the idea that the Virgin four levels, the collection details
a small collection with Furniture detail, could have engen dered the history and architecture of
several themes: local Musée de Morlaix the Holy Trinity. the town.
For hotels and restaurants see pp226–7 and pp238–9

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