Branféré offers visitors the chance to stroll a magnificent park,
planted with century old trees, amid free-ranging animals from all over the world.
The extraordinary story of the Jourde family, the previous owners of Branféré,
testifies to how this domain transformed, little by little, from private
chateau to animal paradise, to world renown site for environmental education.
Beginning in the 18th century an amateur botanist planted the vast 60-acre
park with rare plants and trees: Araucaria from Chili, Séquoia,
Pins Laricio Pines, Camélias, Azalias, Rhododendrons and a 300 year-old
Asian Weeping Platane from Asia.
In the chateau, Helen Jourde's paintings, certain of which have been exhibited
at the Metropolitan Museum of New York, illustrate her love for the animal world
and her fascination for exotic flora of all kinds.
 |
 |
 |
|
| |
|
| |
Discover > Vannes
Sailing
Horseback Riding
Hiking
Golf
Historical Sites
Local Sites
"I love Brittany. Here I discover the wild, the
savage. When my clogs fall upon its granite soil, I hear
the dull, deafening and powerful sound I seek in my painting."
It was in 1886, that Paul Gauguin used these terms to explain
the spell that Brittany cast upon the group of painters who
had come from all over the world to invade Pont Aven.
Perhaps more than his paintings, it was Gauguin's strong personality
that first held the group together. Their works from the "Pont
Aven school," (also known as "cloisonisme" or "synthetisme)" were
precursors of "fauvisme" and featured large colored
surfaces themselves outlined in contrasting shades. Ironically
enough, it was not Soho, Chelsea or Monmartre but rather Brittany,
with its druidic past, strong religious traditions and feudal
remnants that provided the catalyst for such unprecedented
modernism. Today, Pont Aven remains a focal point
for contemporary art in Brittany.
Nestled at the end of the Gulf of Morbihan, Vannes has
been a maritime political and commercial center for more than
2000 years. Known to the Romans as Darioritum, it was here
that Cesar capped his conquest of Gaul. Vannes is
also the site where the treaty linking the duchy Brittany to
the kingdom of France was signed.
Today, Vannes is
a lively port town and commercial center that has successfully
maintained its medieval character within the ramparts of
the old walled city.
Discover > Carnac
Constructed in the 12th century, the fortress at Rochefort
en Terre was the strategic site that controlled the
route linking northern and southern Brittany. Consequently,
the fiefdom and later on the aristocracy of Rochefort en
Terre gained in local power and royal authority. As a result,
during the French Revolution, the fortress became a target
for the Republican Army, finally falling in 1793.
At the
beginning of the 20th century the American painter, Klots,
fell in love with the site and constructed a new chateau
step by step. Today, Rochefort en Terre is one
of the most visited villages in Brittany.
Discover
> Rochefort
en Terre
Discover > Branféré
Discover
Sheltered from the North Atlantic by the twin peninsulas of
Rhuys and Locmariaqer, the Gulf of Morbihan (Mor Bihan means "little
sea" in Breton.) is considered a sailing paradise. It
is about 10 square miles in area and is dotted by dozens of
islands, many still uninhabited. Typically a peaceful haven
for wind sports, the Gulf can also be challenging even to the
experienced navigator.
Near Port Navalo, where the Gulf empties into Quiberon Bay
and the Atlantic, the water is nearly 100 feet deep. However,
because of the force of the tides that rush through this narrow
passage the currents can run as fast as eleven knots. Twice
daily the sea washes into the many creeks, inlets, wetlands
and narrows making the Gulf a natural labyrinth and home for
local as well as migratory waterfowl.
Discover > Pont
Aven
The first traces of human presence in Brittany date back
half-million years. However, it's only beginning with the Neolithic
period that substantial vestiges remain, the most impressive
being the "menhirs" (standing stones) at Carnac.
Although many theories abound, the reason that more than 3000
stones (some measuring more than 20 feet tall and weighing
several tons) were stood on end and arranged in parallel lines
stretching for more than five miles remains a mystery. Nevertheless,
it is known that this "army of stones," as one early
visitor described them, archeologically rivals Stonehenge in
importance and dates to 2800 BC.
Discover > Gulf
of Morbihan
|
|
|
| Gorvello Café • 41, rue des Ducs de Bretagne • Le
Gorvello • 56450 Theix Tel/Fax 02-97-43-00-71 • gorvello.cafe@wanadoo.fr |
|