Chateau De Combourg Lezbroz 5275 1200pxThe formation of Lac Tranquille is said to be related to legendary circumstances: following a quarrel between Rivallon and an old woman, the latter in revenge caused the Margatte fountain to overflow. But the water feature is above all indissociable from the lords’ stranglehold on the land.
Le Lac Tranquille Combourg Alexandre Lamoureux 723
©A.Lamoureux - Château de Combourg - 2030Despite its apparent homogeneity, this fortress went through different stages of construction. To the north, the Tour du Maure (or More) dating from the 13th century is the oldest. The two towers facing south, the Sybille and Chat towers, were built in the 14th century. Finally, the Crusader Tower was built in the 15th century. Between 1776 and 1786, the young François-René stayed in the tower known as the “Cat” tower where he had some terrifying experiences, such as seeing the ghost of “a certain wooden-legged Count of Combourg who had been dead for three centuries and who returned at certain times” accompanied by a black cat.
One of the last half-timbered houses built in Combourg in the 16th century, it was an important coaching inn at the crossroads of the royal roads. This inn became famous when it was adopted as a hunting rendezvous by the Marquis de Coulanges, cousin of Madame de Sévigné.
Le Relais Des Princes Combourg Alexandre Lamoureux 716
Maison De La Lanterne Combourg Alexandre Lamoureux 710A inscription above the door recalls the cbuilding of this house in 1597 by Perrine Jonchée, dame de la Chasse, from a family of Malouin shipowners and wife of Jean Trémaudan. Until the Revolution, the owners were required to light torches in the lantern at the corner of the façade in order to illuminate the Angevine fair and make the square safe.
The house of the Templars known as the “Templerie” evokes the presence in the town of soldier-monks charged with defending the Holy Land in the Middle Ages. Now converted into a restaurant, you can take the “Cour du Temple” passageway on the right. It gives access to an inner courtyard where many architectural features from the 16th and 17th centuries remain. In 1928, during works, a monetary treasure from the reign of Louis XII (1462-1515) was discovered here.
Maison Des Templiers Combourg Alexandre Lamoureux 696
Statue De Francois Rene De Chateaubriand Combourg Alexandre Lamoureux 717At the centre of the Place Chateaubriand stands the statue of Chateaubriand, made by Alphonse Terroir, Grand Prix de Rome. When it was unveiled in 1930, André-François Poncet, Under-Secretary of the National Economy, announced: “This statue will attest that Chateaubriand owes to Brittany what is in him that is authentically and hereditarily Breton”. On the back of the statue is engraved an oil lamp surmounted by a field of stars, symbols of knowledge and immortality.
