Châteauneuf-du-Faou
Encyclopedia
Châteauneuf-du-Faou is a commune
in the Finistère
department of Brittany in north-western France
.
Châteauneuf-du-Faou is located in the middle of Brittany, between Monts d'Arrée
and Montagne Noire
. The town is built on a hill overlooking the Canal de Nantes à Brest
, which is the canalized river Aulne
. The bridge over this waterway was built in 1638, when Louis XIII
was king of France, and is known as the "Old King's Bridge".
, and the Spanish town Chinchón
.
as Châteauneuviens.
. In 2008, 10.4% of primary-school children in the area attended bilingual schools.
discovered near the sides of the road from Châteaulin to Carhaix testify to the density of the prehistoric population. Burial sites from the Bronze
and Iron Age
s have also been found.
Roman coins from the reigns of the emperors Gallienus
and Aurelian
were discovered in 1878.
During its history Châteauneuf-du-Faou was given different names in Latin
and French:
Castrum Novum, a new fortress, was built by the lords of Faou. They belonged to a branch of the house of Léon
. The fortress was seized in 1186 by Guihomarch and Hervé de Léon, and subsequently belonged to the Viscounts of Léon until it was confiscated by John VI
, Duke of Brittany, in 1420. The castle was slighted in 1440.
The town has experienced some riots and wars during its history. The worst day in its history was on 23 March 1593. The War of Religion
which started in 1589 was about to end. Only four months were remaining before Henry IV of France
's conversion to Catholicism
with his famous “Paris vaut bien une messe ("Paris is well worth a Mass
"). On that spring day, in March 1593, Châteauneuf-du-Faou was invaded by hundreds of armed Huguenot
s. Houses were burnt and the inhabitants were murdered. The story is told that a Huguenot soldier seized a holy ciborium and threw it onto the ground. The priest picked it up and swallowed the Hosts
, only to be killed by the soldier. This story is depicted on one of the stained glass
windows of the chapel of Notre-Dame-des-Portes.
The Revolt of the papier timbré
(or, as it was called in Brittany, the Revolt of the Red Bonnets, did not spare Châteauneuf-du-Faou. Angry peasant
s burned the castle in 1675.
In 1438 a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary was found inside an old tree. Looked on as miraculous, the find was celebrated by the building of the chapel of Notre-Dame-des-Portes, a very popular place for pilgrimage throughout Brittany
.
Châteauneuf-du-Faou had a station on the Réseau Breton
railway. The station was on the Carhaix - Camaret
line, it opened on 30 October 1904 and closed on 9 April 1967.
, after whom a road in the village is now named. He was a mystic artist and a founder of the group who called themselves Les Nabis
, after the Hebrew word for prophet
s. He lived in Châteauneuf-du-Faou for several years. In 1894 he painted an inspiring picture, The Pardon of Notre-Dame-Des-Portes at Chateauneuf-Du-Faou This painting is now in the Musee des Beaux-Arts at Quimper.
Sérusier was born in Paris
, but the traditions and culture of Brittany made him say:
The "Pardon" ceremony
is an old tradition in Brittany. Randolph Caldecott
visited Châteauneuf-du-Faou in 1874 and made sketches of a Pardon which took place in the rain.
The Pardon which is celebrated in Notre-Dame-des-Portes at the end of August is one of the most famous in Brittany.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Finistère
Finistère
Finistère is a département of France, in the extreme west of Brittany.-History:The name Finistère derives from the Latin Finis Terræ, meaning end of the earth, and may be compared with Land's End on the opposite side of the English Channel...
department of Brittany in north-western France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Châteauneuf-du-Faou is located in the middle of Brittany, between Monts d'Arrée
Monts d'Arrée
The Monts d'Arrée are an ancient mountain range in western Brittany which forms part of the Armorican massif. Historically it marked the border of the regions of Cornouaille and Léon....
and Montagne Noire
Montagne Noire
* Not to be confused with the Montagnes Noires in Brittany.The Montagne Noire is a mountain range in central southern France. It is located at the southwestern end of the Massif Central in the border area of the Tarn, Hérault and Aude departments...
. The town is built on a hill overlooking the Canal de Nantes à Brest
Canal de Nantes à Brest
The Nantes-Brest canal is a French canal which links the two cities of Nantes and Brest through inland Brittany. It was built during the 19th century and its total length is 385 km with 238 locks from coast to coast...
, which is the canalized river Aulne
Aulne
The Aulne is a 140 km long river of Brittany in north-western France, flowing down the hills and emptying into the roadstead of Brest, one of the many fjord-like bays just south of Brest. The river is part of the Canal de Nantes à Brest, the navigation canal that once connected the city of Nantes...
. The bridge over this waterway was built in 1638, when Louis XIII
Louis XIII of France
Louis XIII was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1610 to 1643.Louis was only eight years old when he succeeded his father. His mother, Marie de Medici, acted as regent during Louis' minority...
was king of France, and is known as the "Old King's Bridge".
Population
International relations
Châteauneuf-du-Faou is twinned with the English town of South BrentSouth Brent
South Brent is a large village on the southern edge of Dartmoor, England, in the valley of the River Avon, population 2998 , 8 km north-east of Ivybridge, and next to the Devon Expressway which connects Exeter to the north-east and Plymouth to the west.-History:It was originally a woollen...
, and the Spanish town Chinchón
Chinchón
Chinchón is a Spanish town 50 km southeast of Madrid. It is part of the Comarca de Las Vegas.-Overview:The Plaza Mayor is roughly circular, surrounded by 15th-17th century galleried houses and cafés and is used as a temporary bullring. The church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción was built in...
.
Name
The inhabitants of Châteauneuf-du-Faou are known in FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
as Châteauneuviens.
The Breton language
On November 6, 2006, the municipality launched a linguistic plan through Ya d'ar brezhonegYa d'ar brezhoneg
Ya d'ar brezhoneg is a campaign launched by the Ofis ar Brezhoneg in order to stimulate the use of the Breton language in daily life in Brittany, western France. In the first phase, started on 5 October 2001, civil society was targeted. Over 560 enterprises and organisations have signed the...
. In 2008, 10.4% of primary-school children in the area attended bilingual schools.
History
There is strong evidence that people have lived in this area for thousands of years. A large number of tumuliTumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
discovered near the sides of the road from Châteaulin to Carhaix testify to the density of the prehistoric population. Burial sites from the Bronze
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
and Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
s have also been found.
Roman coins from the reigns of the emperors Gallienus
Gallienus
Gallienus was Roman Emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260, and alone from 260 to 268. He took control of the Empire at a time when it was undergoing great crisis...
and Aurelian
Aurelian
Aurelian , was Roman Emperor from 270 to 275. During his reign, he defeated the Alamanni after a devastating war. He also defeated the Goths, Vandals, Juthungi, Sarmatians, and Carpi. Aurelian restored the Empire's eastern provinces after his conquest of the Palmyrene Empire in 273. The following...
were discovered in 1878.
During its history Châteauneuf-du-Faou was given different names in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
and French:
- "Castellum novum" in the 12th century
- "Castrum novum" in 1217
- "Castrum novum in fago" between 1330 and 1368
- Châteauneuf-du-Faou in 1391. This is Châteauneuf-du-Faou or “Kastell-Nevez-ar-Faou” in the Breton languageBreton languageBreton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...
It translates to "the New Castle in the Country."
Castrum Novum, a new fortress, was built by the lords of Faou. They belonged to a branch of the house of Léon
Viscounty of Léon
The Viscounty of Léon was a feudal state in extreme western Brittany in the High Middle Ages. Though nominally a vassal of the sovereign Duke of Brittany, Léon was functionally independent of any external controls. It thus became the focus of revolts and wars when Brittany was drawn into the...
. The fortress was seized in 1186 by Guihomarch and Hervé de Léon, and subsequently belonged to the Viscounts of Léon until it was confiscated by John VI
John VI, Duke of Brittany
John VI the Wise , was duke of Brittany, count of Montfort, and titular earl of Richmond, from 1399 to his death...
, Duke of Brittany, in 1420. The castle was slighted in 1440.
The town has experienced some riots and wars during its history. The worst day in its history was on 23 March 1593. The War of Religion
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the name given to a period of civil infighting and military operations, primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants . The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise...
which started in 1589 was about to end. Only four months were remaining before Henry IV of France
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
's conversion to Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
with his famous “Paris vaut bien une messe ("Paris is well worth a Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
"). On that spring day, in March 1593, Châteauneuf-du-Faou was invaded by hundreds of armed Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
s. Houses were burnt and the inhabitants were murdered. The story is told that a Huguenot soldier seized a holy ciborium and threw it onto the ground. The priest picked it up and swallowed the Hosts
Sacramental bread
Sacramental bread, sometimes called the lamb, altar bread, host or simply Communion bread, is the bread which is used in the Christian ritual of the Eucharist.-Eastern Catholic and Orthodox:...
, only to be killed by the soldier. This story is depicted on one of the stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
windows of the chapel of Notre-Dame-des-Portes.
The Revolt of the papier timbré
Revolt of the papier timbré
The Revolt of the papier timbré was an anti-fiscal revolt in the west of Ancien Régime France, during the reign of Louis XIV from April to September 1675...
(or, as it was called in Brittany, the Revolt of the Red Bonnets, did not spare Châteauneuf-du-Faou. Angry peasant
Peasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
s burned the castle in 1675.
In 1438 a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary was found inside an old tree. Looked on as miraculous, the find was celebrated by the building of the chapel of Notre-Dame-des-Portes, a very popular place for pilgrimage throughout Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
.
Transport
Réseau Breton
The Réseau Breton is a standard gauge, and former metre gauge railway in Finistère, France, with a few kilometres of line in Côtes du Nord, Ille-et-Vilaine and Morbihan. The hub of the system was Carhaix...
railway. The station was on the Carhaix - Camaret
Camaret-sur-Mer
Camaret-sur-Mer is a commune in the Finistère department in northwestern France, located at the end of Crozon peninsula.-Sights:Camaret-sur-Mer is home to the Tour Vauban or Tour dorée , a historic fortification guarding the harbor and built in 1669-94...
line, it opened on 30 October 1904 and closed on 9 April 1967.
Art and culture
Notre-Dame-des-Portes is closely associated with the famous artist Paul SérusierPaul Sérusier
Paul Sérusier was a French painter who was a pioneer of abstract art and an inspiration for the avant-garde Nabi movement, Synthetism and Cloisonnism.- Education :...
, after whom a road in the village is now named. He was a mystic artist and a founder of the group who called themselves Les Nabis
Les Nabis
Les Nabis were a group of Post-Impressionist avant-garde artists who set the pace for fine arts and graphic arts in France in the 1890s. Initially a group of friends interested in contemporary art and literature, most of them studied at the private art school of Rodolphe Julian in Paris in the...
, after the Hebrew word for prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
s. He lived in Châteauneuf-du-Faou for several years. In 1894 he painted an inspiring picture, The Pardon of Notre-Dame-Des-Portes at Chateauneuf-Du-Faou This painting is now in the Musee des Beaux-Arts at Quimper.
Sérusier was born in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, but the traditions and culture of Brittany made him say:
The "Pardon" ceremony
Pardon (ceremony)
A Pardon is a typically Breton form of pilgrimage and one of the most traditional demonstrations of popular Catholicism in Brittany. Of very ancient origin, probably dating back to the conversion of the country by the Celtic monks, it is comparable to the parades associated with Saint Patrick's Day...
is an old tradition in Brittany. Randolph Caldecott
Randolph Caldecott
Randolph Caldecott was a British artist and illustrator, born in Chester. The Caldecott Medal was named in his honor. He exercised his art chiefly in book illustrations. His abilities as an artist were promptly and generously recognized by the Royal Academy. Caldecott greatly influenced...
visited Châteauneuf-du-Faou in 1874 and made sketches of a Pardon which took place in the rain.
The Pardon which is celebrated in Notre-Dame-des-Portes at the end of August is one of the most famous in Brittany.