Josselin: The Castle of the Rohans, Notre-Dame-du-Roncier and the Combat des Trente
Brittany, France
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225
XP
+100 France
= 325 total
1 day
Josselin: The Castle of the Rohans, Notre-Dame-du-Roncier and the Combat des Trente
225 + 100 XP
The castle of Josselin stands on a rock above the Oust, whose canalised course forms part of the Nantes–Brest canal, and its Renaissance residence was built from 1490 onwards for Jean II de Rohan; the fortress round it is much older, fortified from 1025. Olivier V de Clisson, who bought Josselin in 1370, made it the best-armed fortress in Brittany, a feudal enclosure of 4,500 m2 with ramparts 25 m high, nine cylindrical towers whose walls are 3.5 m thick, and a keep 26 m across and 32 m high. Richelieu had the keep and three towers pulled down in March 1629 but spared the Renaissance building; the Rohan abandoned the castle through the 18th century, ran a cotton mill in its ground floor from 1776 and only began a proper restoration from the 1850s, opening it to the public around 1930. It is still the home of the fourteenth duke of Rohan. In March 1351 the thirty champions of Charles de Blois heard mass in the church of Notre-Dame before the Combat des Trente, fought on the heath of Mi-Voie halfway between Josselin and Ploërmel.
Required Activities
1
of 5
On the courtyard façade find the crowned A's, the lozenge macles and the Rohan motto A PLUS cut into the stone balustrade, along with the fleurs de lys and the stylised ermines, then go inside and find Rodin's marble bust of duke Alain and the table on which the Edict of Nantes was signed
2
of 5
In the basilica of Notre-Dame-du-Roncier, where the thirty heard mass before riding out to Mi-Voie, find the south apsidiole that Olivier V de Clisson and his second wife Marguerite de Rohan turned into their private oratory at the end of the 14th century, then look at the south porch, reworked in the 16th century on the model of the west porch at Guingamp
3
of 5
Drive out to the lieu-dit La Pyramide at Guillac, near the lande de Mi-Voie where the fight was held, and find the Colonne des Trente: a 15 m obelisk built of thirty granite blocks, one for each knight, with the first stone laid on 11 July 1819 and the monument inaugurated on 6 July 1823 — then read the names on it and notice that only Charles de Blois's side is listed
4
of 5
Walk the towpath along the canalised Oust below the castle and count from the water the three towers that survive of Clisson's nine, then pick out the separate Tour-prison at the north-west corner, where prisoners were held in the 18th century when the castle took nearly 1,200 prisoners of war after Saint-Cast in 1758
5
of 5
Find the brambles carved or growing on the basilica's gable and ask in the church about the sickle of the ploughman who, the legend says, found a statue of the Virgin in a bramble bush beside the Oust in 808 — and about the pardon of the aboyeuses, whose procession was still accompanied by real barking into the 1950s
On the courtyard façade find the crowned A's, the lozenge macles and the Rohan motto A PLUS cut into the stone balustrade, along with the fleurs de lys and the stylised ermines, then go inside and find Rodin's marble bust of duke Alain and the table on which the Edict of Nantes was signed
In the basilica of Notre-Dame-du-Roncier, where the thirty heard mass before riding out to Mi-Voie, find the south apsidiole that Olivier V de Clisson and his second wife Marguerite de Rohan turned into their private oratory at the end of the 14th century, then look at the south porch, reworked in the 16th century on the model of the west porch at Guingamp
Drive out to the lieu-dit La Pyramide at Guillac, near the lande de Mi-Voie where the fight was held, and find the Colonne des Trente: a 15 m obelisk built of thirty granite blocks, one for each knight, with the first stone laid on 11 July 1819 and the monument inaugurated on 6 July 1823 — then read the names on it and notice that only Charles de Blois's side is listed
Walk the towpath along the canalised Oust below the castle and count from the water the three towers that survive of Clisson's nine, then pick out the separate Tour-prison at the north-west corner, where prisoners were held in the 18th century when the castle took nearly 1,200 prisoners of war after Saint-Cast in 1758
Find the brambles carved or growing on the basilica's gable and ask in the church about the sickle of the ploughman who, the legend says, found a statue of the Virgin in a bramble bush beside the Oust in 808 — and about the pardon of the aboyeuses, whose procession was still accompanied by real barking into the 1950s
Before you go
The castle opens daily from 4 April to 1 November, 11:00 to 18:00, and is closed the rest of the year. It is still the family home of the duke of Rohan, so only the gardens, four ground-floor rooms and — since 2021 — the duchess Herminie's restored bedroom are open; one ticket covers the castle, the gardens and the Doll and Toy Museum in the old stables. The basilica's bell tower can be climbed from 10:00 to 18:00 in the summer season and on heritage days only.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
225 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
325 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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