We took a day trip to Quimper, an ancient Celtic town where 3 rivers meet, and the capital of Cornouaille, Brittany's most traditional region.
We've found that the easiest way to get an overview of a town is to catch the Petit Train. This one had a French commentary and English handouts, which I'm quoting...
The Cathedral
The construction of the St Corentin's Cathedral was started in 1240 and lasted for nearly three hundred years. This cathedral is unusual as it is built on two axes. Earlier foundations, the river nearby and the tilting of Christ's head on the Cross are the reasons given to justify the deviation of the axes from the nave to the choir. The spires are nearly 80m high, they were added in 1856. The Diocese asked the parishioners to pay one 'sou' a year for five years to pay for them. The recent renovation of the cathedral lasted nearly ten years; the C15th style is emphasized. The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Corentin, first bishop of Cornouaille. King Gradlon who founded the town in the C5th asked him to found the bishopric.
Place Saint Corentin
On the square the museum of Fine Arts is to the left of the cathedral on the square. The renovation of this museum was quite spectacular. It was completed by one of the architects of the musée d'Orsay in Paris. You will find the most important collection of Breton paintings from the academic style to the revolutionau paintings of 'l'Ecole de Pont-Aven' led by Paul Gauguin. Also on the square you can see the statue of Théophile Hyacinthe Laennec the famous local doctor who invented the stethoscope.
Kéréon
We are now in rue Kéréon, 'shoemaker' in Breton, this corporation was concentrated in this street. Look at the city's most ancient houses. You will see small statues and figurines on some of the fronts. Unfortunately some of these statues were removed by their owners. In 1782 Quimper was destroyed fire but these houses were spared. At the time they were the homes of wealthy merchants, aristocrats, lawyers or clergy men.
Pont Médard
The old part of town is surrounded by three rivers l'Odet, le Steir and le Frout. We are now going to cross le Steir on the Médar bridge. In the old times the only access to the ancient parish of St Mathieu was a drawbridge.
La Herse
We are in rue de la Herse, le Steir is on your right. This turret commonly called a bartizan or watchtower is a part of the fortifications of la Ville Close. With sharp eyes and a little imagination, you will see on the side of the sentry box a coat of arms with three 'fleur-de-lis'. King Henry IV had them embossed when the town surrendered and became part of the kingdom.
Library (médiathèque) and Eglise St Mathieu
The library is on our right. Once a convent (le couvent des Ursulines), this building made of granite became a garrison house after the revolution. Today it has a cultural mission and has its place in the neighbourhood with the theatre of Cornouaille, the school of Fine Arts and the contemporary art centre. St Mathieu's church on our left, was rebuilt in 1897. Only the master window situated in the choir remains of the older building. It is one of the most beautiful in Cornouaille. The steeple was erected by Le Naour, the most famous Breton steeple builder.
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| Library |
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| Saint Matthew church |
Frugis
We will now drive near the Odet river, along the hill of Frugis towards the theatre. The 76.5 yards high hill of Frugis overlooking the city was replanted with trees after it was devastated by the 1987 hurricane. On 15 October 1987 winds exceed on the coast 124 miles / hour. 136 miles / hour at the peak of Penmarch.
Confluent
Quimper means 'Confluent in Breton. Two of the three Quimper rivers join here on the left. Many footbridges cross the river.
Préfecture
We are now driving along the prefecture du Finistère. In 1906 Collignon the departmental authority representative lavishly renovated the building: Parquet wood marquetry, Carrara marble, tapestries, chandeliers gothic style and heaters in the style of the end of the C15th.
Theatre
On our right, the theatre. The person who donated the land wanted an old people's home to be built there, but the town, concerned with prestige, ignored the will and built a theatre which at the time made the population angry. The argument inspired the most famous Quimpérois Max Jacob to write a play "Le terrain Bouchabal." Having completed his studies, Max Jacob went to Paris where he met a twenty-year-old young man called Picasso. They became friends immediately. He settled at the Bateau Lavoir' and saw the birth of Cubism. His companions were Braque, Modigliani, Appolinaire. In Quimper a street, a square, a bridge, a footbridge on the Odet are named after Max Jacob and a room in the museum of Fine Arts is devoted to him.
Rue de Juniville
If you look in the next street on the left you will get a glimpse of the statue of Gradlon on horseback between the two spires of the cathedral. He was king of Cornouaille and of the legendary city of Ys which disappeared in the waters of the Bay of Douarnenez. Gradlon's daughter Dahut was seduced by a stranger. As proof of her love, he asked her for the keys to the sluices that protected the island on which the city was built. The man who was none other than the devil opened the doors of the city which disappeared under the waters. Gradlon fled on horseback in front of the waves, his daughter behind him. He was saved by St Guénolé who ordered him to throw Princess Dahut into the sea.
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| Gradlon (from the other side) |
At the roundabout
In front of you is the oldest part of the ramparts and the last of the big defence towers, La tour Nevez. These ramparts used to be surrounded by moats which are now filled and replaced with gardens. We are now using one of the first 'rond-point à l'anglaise' (English roundabout) made in France. It is named after Alexandre Macé who was a philanthropist. He founded an orphanage and a school of horticulture. You should think of the man again when you use shirt buttons with four holes; he invented them.
Revolution
In 1793 furious revolutionaries attacked the cathedral. All signs of monarchy had to go down. The revolutionaries climbed the towers and pushed down the big equestrian statue of Gladlon. It crashed on the slabs of the square in front of the church from a height of 40m. The statue was renovated a few years later; it was destroyed again but by lightning this time. The statue was the object of strange worship. On July 26th a town valet would sit on the horse behind Gradlon and offer him some wine. Then he would wipe his mouth and throw the cup to the crowd packed below. The person who caught it without breaking it would win a hundred crowns of gold. Nobody ever succeeded.
Boulevard Kerguelen
We are back on the Boulevard de Kerguelen built thanks to an important subsidy granted to the town by Napoléon III. With the money, the river Odet was dyked up behind concrete quays and a great number of footbridges were added. On our right you see the ramparts surrounding the garden of the bishopric. A stele was set up to commemorate the work of the writer Pierre Jakez Hélias. He was a defender of the Breton language. His novel "Le Cheval d'Orgueil" is world famous.
After the train tour, we went inside the cathedral (it was closed when we first arrived)
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Additional commentary from the train, with no photos...
Eurodif
The big store on the corner of the street on our left was built for Mr Anglaret who is also the man who had the first postcards of Quimper done. This building is a perfect example of early C20th architecture. It was destroyed by a fire in 1999 and rebuilt in exactly the same way. The façade is listed. When the building burnt down, decorative earthenware was discovered under the coating. It was renovated in the HB Henriot workshops.
Kéréon 2
The names of the streets nearby, remind us of the trades that used to take place there: La rue des Boucheries (Butchers' street), la rue du Salé, la place au Beurre (butter square), la rue des ruches (Beehives street) now called la rue du Lycée (school street). La Ville Close used to be under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Cornouaille. He had his headquarters near the cathedral in what is now le Musée Départemental Breton. The rest of the city was under the authority of the Duc de Bretagne. This situation led to many conflicts in the course of time. As many medieval towns, Quimper was enclosed within nearly a mile of ramparts. These city walls were complete with 10 defence towers and 6 gates. Later you will see quite a lot of the walls as well as the last big defence tower still standing.
Floods
On 12 December 2000 Quimper was flooded. The consequences were appalling. 300 work places were affected and more than 400 people living in this area. The average height of the water in the town centre where we are now was 5 feet. History only repeats itself. In 1974 and 1995 the three rivers of Quimper had already overflowed their banks. The combination of high tides, heavy rains and the human policy of filling in rivers since the C15th all contributed to these disasters. Today all this seems far away as we can walk again at leisure by the pretty shop windows.
Terre au Duc
This part of town was under the jurisdiction of the Duke of Brittany, hence its name (the land of the Duke). This is where farm labourers would meet to look for new jobs. It was then called 'la Place des Labourers Locatifs'. The medieval houses on either side are more recent than those in rue Kéréon, they were built in the C17th.
Rue du Chapeau rouge
We are now in la rue du Chapeau rouge (Red Hat street). In the C17th it was common to call streets after the trade of the shops there. The Red Hat was a hotel. There were also blacksmiths in this street.
Rue Saint Mathieu
Nawab René Madec was born in the area in 1736. He had an amazing life. The writer Irène Frain told his story in 'Le Nabab". When he was twelve he went to sea as ship's boy on a Lorient ship heading for the Dominican Republic and from there embarked to Pondichéry. René Madec lived there for twenty-five years sometimes on the British side, sometimes on the French side. He served as a soldier under Dupleix and then became a sergeant. He then served the Great Moghul who gave him the title of Nawab reserved to the highest dignitaries in the sultan's court. He became king of the Dekkan, defender of the Indies for the King of France and he became very rich. When he came back to Quimper in 1779 king Louis XVI gave him a title. He settled in his home town not far from the house where he was born. Look at n° 5 in the street that was given his name. He lived a lavish existence until he died at the age of forty-eight after a bad fall off a horse.
Seznec
Opposite the bridge ahead of the train you can see the Court of Justice behind the trees. On November 4th, 1924 at the Court of Justice of Quimper, during the assizes of Finistère, Guillaume Seznec said: "I, Guillaume Seznec, 42 years old, wood seller at Morlaix, am accused of the murder of Pierre Quéméneur, council member for Ploudalmézeau, and charged with a life sentence to hard labour." The accused claimed his innocence. Seznec refused an initial proposal of grace. "Only culprits ask for forgiveness."
He eventually accepted grace which was granted in 1946 by the Général de Gaule. His wife Marie-Jeanne, His daughter Jeanne, his grandson Denis Le Her Seznec each in their time carried on the fight to make the truth come out. On March 30th 2001, a very rare event, Marylise Lebranchu, secretary of state for justice requested to have Seznec's case reopened. New elements on the case have made the news recently.
Allée de Locmaria
The first inhabitants settled in Locmaria to your right. When they invaded Gaul the Romans called the place "Aquilonia" (the city of the eagle). In 1690 Jean-Baptiste Bousquet, an earthenware craftsman from the Provence, came to live in Locmaria and opened an earthenware factory which took the name of HB in 1928.
During the 1878 universal exhibition the craftsmanship of the 'peinteuses' as they are called here became known all over the world. There is only one factory left in the area of Kermaria: HB Henriot next to the roman church where Jean Baptiste Bousquet had established his business three centuries before. We invite you to visit the workshops where you can see 'peinteuses' at work. The Quimper biscuit factory is also in this historic district of Locmaria. You can taste the famous hand made 'crêpes dentelle'. The recipe has remained secret since 1886!
Quai de l'Odet
the harbour of Quimper was a source of activity and prosperity for the city. For a long time it was the primary means for the supply and trade of the city. But the draining of the port, every twelve hours because of the tides, meant that the boats were beached too. At the time it was called "a harbour that dries up". This made manoeuvres difficult and increased risks of ships touching the bottom, so that ship owners could never be sure of seeing their fleet make it to the harbour.
Place de la Résistance
On our right 'la place de la résistance'. The "festival de Cornouaille” takes place here every year. Far from being the usual representation of traditional folklore, it is more representative of the development of Breton culture which has changed through the generations to the sound of the bombarde. 'Gavotte' and 'jabadao' dancers dance on more modern rhythms.
Museum départemental
On the other side of the river in what used to be the palace of the bishops is now the musée départemental Breton. You will discover a unique heritage in different thematic sections: costumes, popular furniture, Quimper ceramics, as well as prehistory.
Dupleix
The quay we are now on was only completed in 1968 and was a second boulevard along the river. Fifteen years were necessary to achieve this section. These lands and and bridges of the left bank were privately owned. The twenty-one owners resisted until the council decided to expropriate them in the general interest. Since then, the Odet gateways are accessible to all. The boulevard is named after a minister of Louis XV: Joseph Depleix, who was studying at Quimper at the Morlaix. time his father was in charge of the tobacco manufacture in Morlaix.
Kodak
The Kodak building on our right is quite representative of the architecture of the thirties. It was commissioned by the photographer Joseph Villard. Made of concrete, glass and metal it was extremely modern when it was built on the boulevard named after Yves de Kerguelen Tremarec. This sailor from Quimper sailed far and wide. He is famous for having discovered The Archipelagos in the Austral seas: the Kerguelen Islands also known as the Isles of Desolation.
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