Page 199 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Brittany

MORBIHAN  197

but Romanesque columns
survive in the choir. Recumbent
statues of Olivier de Clisson
(see p198) and of his wife,
Marguerite de Rohan, lie near
the miraculous statue.
Rues des Vierges, Olivier-
de-Clisson and Trente are
lined with fine 16th- and
17th-century houses. The
Musée des Poupées, at No. 3
Rue Trente, contains some 600
wax, wooden and porcel ain
dolls dating from the 17th and
18th centuries. Chapelle Ste-
Croix (1050), on the banks of
the Oust, is the oldest chapel
in the Morbihan.
Place du Puits, in the flower-filled village of Rochefort-en-Terre
E Musée des Poupées
include beams decorated with the town’s oldest building. 3 Rue Trente. Tel (02) 97 22 36 45.
monsters, woodcarvings on the The astronomical clock (1855), Open Apr–mid-Jul & Sep: daily pm;
theme of death (left of the pulpit) near the Lycée Lamennais, mid-Jul–Aug: daily; Oct: Sat & Sun pm.
and a Renaissance altarpiece. was made by a member of the Closed Nov–Mar. &
A 16th-century calvary stands Ploërmel brotherhood, which
on the church square. was founded by the older Environs
brother of the writer Félicité From the Middle Ages, the Forêt
E Naïa Museum de Lamennais (see pp31 & 53). de Lanouée, 10 km (6 miles)
14 Rue du Château. Tel (02) 97 40 12 35. north of Josselin, provided
Open Mar–Sep: Tue–Sun; phone to Environs firewood for the ironworks
check at other times. Closed Jan. & The Circuit de l’Hortensia is a where cannon balls were made.
walk around the Lac au Duc, They were at their most
1 km (0.5 mile) northwest of productive in the 18th century.
i Ploërmel Ploërmel. The lake is bordered by The parish close at Guéhenno,
2,000 hydrangeas representing 11 km (7 miles) southwest of
Road map D3. £ Vannes. * 8,000.
n 5 Rue du Val; (02) 97 74 02 70. 12 different types of these Josselin, is the only complete
8 Jul–Aug: Mon & Thu. ( Fri. colourful flowering shrubs. example in the Morbihan.
_ Fest Noz (Oct); Free concerts (Jul– Two statues of soldiers guard
Aug). ∑ tourisme-ploermel.com the entrance to the ossuary,
o Josselin where there is a figure of the
This town was one of Road map D3. £ Vannes. * 2,500. resurrected Christ. The calvary
the places of residence of the n 4 Rue des Remparts; (02) 97 22 36 43. is the most spectacular part of
dukes of Brittany. The tombs ( Sat. _ Fest Noz (Apr); Festival the close. It dates from 1550
of Jean II and Jean III lie in the Médiéval (14 Jul); Pardon St-Eloi but was badly damaged in the
16th-century Église St-Armel, (8 Sep). ∑ josselin-tourisme.com Revolution. Eventually a parish
near the tomb of Philippe de priest undertook its restoration.
Montauban. The fine stained- Linen weaving and the linen A column with the symbols of
glass window with the trade created Josselin’s the Passion of Christ stands in
Tree of Jesse is the work wealth. The town has at front of it.
of Jehan le Flamand. least two important
The north entrance buildings: the Château
is decorated with de Josselin (see pp198–9)
some strikingly and the Basilique Notre-
expressive reliefs Dame-du-Roncier, with
depicting the vices legendary origins.
and the Last Judgment. A miraculous statue of
The Maison des the Virgin was found
Marmousets (1586), under brambles (ronces)
opposite the tourist and a church was built
office in Rue Beau- Figure, Maison des on the holy spot. The
manoir, has some Marmousets basilica that now stands
unusual reliefs. Next on this legendary site is
door is the Hôtel des Ducs de in the Flamboyant Gothic style, Marguerite de Rohan, Basilique
Bretagne, which, built in 1150, is with typically Gothic gargoyles, Notre-Dame-du-Roncier, Josselin

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