Rennes

Gentle Friends, Rennes was the largest City we visited in Brittany, Before the Revolution it was the Capitol of the Duchy of Brittany and is still the Capitol of Brittany.  It is a lovely vibrant City with great Churches and beautiful big administrative and cultural buildings...... 

Rennes, Hotel de Ville (City Hall), across Place de la Mairie (City Hall Plaza) is.....

 .... The Opera House, built in 1836......

....Palais Saint-Georges - Formerly an abbey residence, it was built in 1670 to replace a much older abbey building that stood on the same site. The Benedictine Abbey of Saint George (Abbaye Saint-Georges de Rennes) was forced to close in 1792 during the French Revolution and the property was seized by the government. Since 1930 the building has been listed as a monument historique of France.  It now houses Adminstrative offices for the City.....

......The Parlement de Bretagne (Administrative and Judicial Centre of Brittany) is the most famous 17th century building in Rennes. It was rebuilt after a terrible fire in 1994 that may have been caused by a flare fired by a protester during a demonstration. It houses the Rennes Court of Appeal......

......Palais du commerce..(The Palace of Commerce) now known as the "Palace of the Post" is a former stock exchange and currently a post office. It was built from 1885 to 1929......

 ...The Portes mordelaises, Mordelaise the door is a gatehouse,a remnant of the walls of Rennes.  Its location dated to the 3rd century and the creation of the first walls, but its architecture dates mainly from the 15th century.It was the main entrance to the city of Rennes...... and when you look into and through the gate you see........

 ... a great cobbled street......

_____________________

There were three great churches in Rennes we saw and went in - and  - one little chapel, which has now been turned into the Tourist Office for the City.....

... The Chapel of Saint-Yves is a relic of the15th century Hotel Dieu in Rennes, it became a hardware store in the 19th century and like I said before is now the Tourist Office.

The Cathedral of Rennes (Cathedral Sainte-Pierre de Rennes) -  a little history......"The earliest building was completely replaced by a Gothic cathedral in the 12th century, of which in 1490 the tower and the entire west front collapsed. The existing façade with its neoclassical granite towers in four stages was constructed over the next two centuries or so, with long gaps between the different stages: the lowest level was built between 1541 and 1543, the second from 1640 to 1654 (by Tugal Caris), and the fourth (by Pierre Corbineau) from 1654 to 1678. Yet another architect, François Hoguet, completed the towers, between 1679 and 1704, at their present height of 48 metres and added the device of Louis XIV between them."

Some more shots of the Cathedral.....

 ... in the Atrium are two large stained glass windows.... to the left is above and .....

... this one to the right...... and under this window is this statue....

... of Saint-Peter, I knew it when I saw it as I had seen the original in the Vatican in Rome, and the right foot is worn away here as there......

 

...... a little more history...."The nave and choir however had not been restored. During vespers on 11 February 1754 a great stone fell from the roof of the choir, and it was decided, before the entire body of the cathedral collapsed, to demolish all these parts and rebuild them. The demolition was carried out between 1756 and 1768, leaving only the towers and west front standing. Rebuilding began in 1787, shortly after which the French Revolution began and all work was suspended. It did not recommence until 1816, and finished in 1845.

The original decoration was in a plain neo-classical style but during the 19th century it was extensively refurbished with gilt, stucco and paintings (inspired by those in the Parliament of Rennes) to create a more sumptuous appearance. Characteristic of this cathedral is the contrast between the rich decoration, including, in front of the altar, slabs of rare marble from the Roman Forum, a gift from Pope Pius IX, and the sombre granite of the structure.".......

 ... I'm pretty sure this a statue of Saint-Anne, It was a really lovely piece (and far from where I could get a good picture) and so I took the snap.

On to The Basilica of Saint-Sauveur under the patronage of Our Lady of Miracles and Virtues.  The current church is a replacement begun in 1703 after the collapse of the medieval church.

The ciborium or baldachin over the main alter, really very impressive....

... the alter of the Virgin...

... a statue of  Louis IX (St Louis) and the crown of thorns he purchased from Baldwin II..... he will come up later once I start talking Paris......

... and probably the most important part of this church is this alter with the statue of Our Lady of Miracles and Virtues....  surrounding and covering this space are 100's of marble plaques.........The statue of Our Lady of Miracles and Virtues, often simply called Our Lady of Miracles, is a Virgin and Child.. Installed in 1876, it replaces the original statue venerated since the 14th century and destroyed during the French Revolution.

 

.... to the left are more marble plaques thanking her for prayers answered and miracles done.... and a couple of tables to light tapers, after lighting a taper and taking a moment I took this picture.... it is a really nice space to stop and slow down during the whirlwind of a vacation......

..... and the last large Church we saw was Saint-Germain, we got there as Mass was wrapping up and then letting out.....

......The town's cloth merchants' church, built in the 13th century, is a clear indication of the guild's wealth and stature at that time. Both Gothic and Renaissance styles can be seen on the porches, and the stained glass windows in the two bays dating from the 16th century vie with the more contemporary creations by Max Ingrand.......  we passed through the front doors into the sanctuary and found....

.... the nave filled with the incense from Mass....  the clouds moved slowly about and the smell was most intoxicating.... and the pictures have a great look about them.....

.... the High alter of Saint-Germain and the ciborium or baldachin covering it....

 .... since this is not one of the more important churches it is almost impossible to find out any information, but isn't this a great window!!......

... this side view of Saint-Germain shows the great bulk of the building and how the chapels follow and fill all the land available.....I am standing in a parking lot.park to get this snap......

That about wraps up Rennes, a super City and worth a visit if you are ever in the area!!

Thanks again for stopping by, do stop again!

Take care,

edgar