Ille-et-Vilaine
Ille-et-Vilaine (; br, Il-ha-Gwilen) is a department of France, located in the region of Brittany in the northwest of the country. It is named after the two rivers of the Ille and the Vilaine. It had a population of 1,079,498 in 2019.
in
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period o ...
. It is located in the North West of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
Inhabitants of Iffendic are called ''Iffendicois'' in French.
History
Iffendic was located on the crossroad of two Roman ways; the North/South way from Corseul to
Nantes
Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabit ...
and the East/West way from
Rennes
Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine departm ...
to
Carhaix
Carhaix-Plouguer (; br, Karaez-Plougêr ), commonly known as just Carhaix (), is a commune in the French department of Finistère, region of Brittany, France.Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, Iffendic had many buildings on its own territory, like castles and manors. The castle of Boutavent (12th century) accommodated the Lords of Montfort when the castle of Montfort had been destroyed. They stayed in Boutavent during nearly two centuries before settling back to their former castle: the one in Montfort. After that, the site seemed to be abandoned but nothing proves that it hasn't been inhabited then.
The population of the town is in favour of the changes brought by the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
, above all after the end of the reign of the Terror. The major revolutionary event is the one celebrating the execution of Louis XVI, accompanied by a hatred oath to the royalty and to the anarchy. It is celebrated since 1795.
Tourism
Tourism management in Montfort-sur-Meu is entrusted by
Montfort Community
Montfort can refer to:
Feudal fiefs and houses
* Montfort-l'Amaury, a French noble house, extinct in the 14th century
* Montfort of Brittany, descendants in the female line, reigning house of the Duchy of Brittany in the 14th and 15th centuries
* ...
to the Tourist Office of the district of Montfort.
Buildings
L'Aparté, is a place for contemporary art.
The town has two
Historical Monument
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...
s:
* The church Saint-Eloi, with a flamboyant Gothic style, has a splendid stained glass window (1542). The porch (1607) is topped by a gallery used as an ossuary. The stained glass window and the gate are classified Historical Monument by the decree of 11 June 1926.
* The castle of La Chasse is dated from 1895. The low relief sculpted by Jean-Antoine Houdon in 1781 and kept in the Louvre, has been classified by the decree of 1 September 1930.
The town has also got 378 inventory sheets, including:
* Saint Barthelemy chapel
* The castle of Treguil which is dated at least from the 16th century. It was the property of earls of Montfort and was also part of the defence of the town. The castle, as we can see it nowadays, is a reconstruction from the beginning of the 19th century, around 1820. The northwestern detached house is the oldest part of the castle. It houses a wooden spiral stairway and a fireplace from the 14th or 15th century.
* The castle of Breil was built around 1860-1863. It had a Neo-Renaissance style but it has been badly damaged with a fire during the night of 27–28 June 1903.
* Castle of Le Pin. This residence was built during the 19th century where a former manor was. Nowadays, this small castle houses a guesthouse and Bed & Breakfasts.
* Castle of La Morinais.
* Ruins of the castle of Boutavent.
* Former shophouses in the town centre. Traces from the medieval commercial activity of the town can be seen thanks to several shophouses located in the town centre, rue de Gaël and Boulevard de la Trinité.
* Three megalithic buildings.
Image: File"-L'aparté" - Iffendic (3).jpg, Aparté in Iffendic
Image: Iffendic (35) Église 01.jpg, Church Saint Eloi in Iffendic (crédit: GO69)
Image: Château du Breil in Iffendic.jpg, Castle of Le Breil in Iffendic
Natural sites
* Valley of the Chambre au Loup. Located at 2 km from the land of Trémelin, the valley of the Chambre au loup offers a beautiful landscape. This valley has been dug by a subsidence due to rifts which appeared in the fold of the schist, and to the erosion caused by the river. It has 70 hectares of wooded moors, high cliffs in which the dizziest is 35m high. This "small canyon" also offers pedestrian hikes in a pleasant and natural environment. This site is so called because it is said that in one of the cliff’s caves is where the last wolf of the region lived.
* The land of Trémelin (french: Domaine de Trémelin) is a natural site stretching over more than 220 hectares. The site has a big forest, moors, and areas classified as a natural area of ecological, faunistic and floristic interest, but also one of the principal "oligodystrophes" ponds (pond with very slow plant dynamics) in Ille-et-Vilaine. Many trails (including the one going around the pond) allow exploration of site. Trémelin leisure base also offers diversified leisure activities. Since May 2010, on the land of Trémelin, can be found a place for contemporary art called L'Aparté.
* The land of Careil. Departmental natural area of 96 hectares, it gathers many birds of many different species. An ornithological observatory is at the disposal of the public, in particular to observe migratory or winter birds.Nous-Vous-Ille, Milieux humides - Un passeport vous en dit plus, Mars-avril-mai 2009, p. 46. It is a land which has a pond called the pond of Careil. The pond, dried up during the 19th century, was rebuilt.
* The land of Boutavent. Located near the land of Trémelin and the Chambre au loup, the land of Boutavent is marked with the imprint of an old feudal castle built by the Lords of Montfort (From the 12th to the 14th century). Interpreting boards allow visitors to understand the history of the site. It also constitutes a "conservatory" of landscapes where forests, moors and hedged farmlands are next to each other.
* Forest of Iffendic. It stretches over more than 300 hectares and is principally located around the land of Trémelin, the Chambre au Loup, and the mill of Le Casse. The trees we can find in the forest are mostly oaks, beeches and pines. Many paths are accessible by foot, by bike and for some people, by horse.
* Arboretum. Created in 2003, the arboretum offers a place for a walk in the heart of the town of Iffendic. Indeed, a marked path allows to walk through the sculptures of local artists on the edge of the Meu river.
* Valley of Le Casse. Adorned of rocky puddingstone blockfield, big cracks cut the rock. In one of them, a beautiful oak seems to be fixed to the side.
Image: 100517 chambre loup.JPG, Chambre au Loup
Image: Domaine-de-trémelin-en-iffendic.jpg, Land of Trémelin
Image: 081002 domaine careil (5).JPG, Pond of Careil