Le Cloître-Saint-Thégonnec is a Finistere town in the Brittany region, 12 km south of Morlaix. The municipal territory rises to some 300 m of altitude. Located on the northwestern part of the Monts d'Arrée, it has a hilly and green landscape and is crossed by several streams.
Traces of human presence since Prehistory have been uncovered in the town, and during antiquity, the Roman road linking Morlaix to Carhaix passed west of the village.
Shared between different seigneuries in the Middle Ages, including that of Trégor, whose castle was located on the nearby town of Plourin-lès-Morlaix, Le Cloître-Saint-Thégonnec takes its name from the fact that the parish also depended on the abbey of Relec.
Theater of fierce fighting between American and German troops in 1944, activity in the town was still essentially agricultural. Although having paid a heavy price for the rural exodus (more than 1200 inhabitants at the beginning of the 20th century, less than 700 now), Le Cloître-Saint-Thégonnec has found a second wind thanks to tourism and the creation of a museum dedicated to the wolf, unique in France.
Belonging also to the Regional Natural Park of Armorique, relatively close to the coast, the town with the preserved environment deserves a detour during a stay in Finistère.
Before visiting the Musée du Loup or hiking in the countryside surrounding the town, several heritage sites can justify a stage during a circuit in the form of discovery.
This is the case of the church Notre-Dame Cloister-Saint-Thégonnec, which dates from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, which was firstly a priory belonging to the abbey of Relec. Note that the original bell tower of the sixteenth century, partially destroyed in 1944, was rebuilt in 1947 but has since shown a twisted appearance. Nearby, the Calvary is from the 17th century and the presbytery cross dates from the 19th century.
South of the town, in a secluded place at the bottom of a valley, the modest St. Barnabas chapel is worth a look. Built in 1614, as specified by an escutcheon at the gate, it is rectangular and has no bell tower. Inside, however, a beautiful altar of the eighteenth century has been preserved. According to legend, a fountain (now dry) near the chapel was known to cure sick children.
Over the hamlets and localities, to see finally, a house of the seventeenth century Creac'h Ménory and old mills on Coatfal, Queuneut and Cuzulic.
On the square of the town hall, a sculpted work of the local artist Alain Milan, specialized in the work of stone and especially granite, "The Monument to Wolves", symbolizes the fact that since 1991, Le Cloître-Saint-Thégonnec has the only museum in France exclusively devoted to the wolf. Founded thanks to the collections and archives of naturalist Édouard Lebeurier, the museum is located in the village because it was here that was granted the last premium of slaughter of a wolf in 1885. These animals feared by the population have long been many in the mountains of Arrée. The museum presents with its permanent exhibition the biological specificity of the animal, the aspects of its behavior, its place in the biodiversity despite the attempts of eradication of which it was the object, and the central place of the wolf in the legends and folk tales. In summer, there are temporary exhibitions and animations and workshops for young people. Open on Sunday from April to November from 14h to 18h, Wednesdays during school holidays in Zone B and every day from 14h to 18h in July and August. Entry: 3 and 4 euros. Information on +33 2 98 79 73 45.
In terms of environmental heritage, part of the 343 hectares of "Landes and peat bogs of Cragou and Vergam" is located in the town. This space is the object of protection and enhancement because of its rich biodiversity: carnivorous plants, ferns, buzzards, hawks... Responsible for the management of these moors and peat bogs, the Association Bretagne Vivante which owns an antenna on the locality also organizes animations and sessions of discovery. Information on +33 2 98 79 71 98.
Still on the town, the Mendy bog is also protected for its ecosystem.
Hiking and mountain biking tours can include these different built and environmental heritage elements. Other loops include wider incursions into the Arrée Mountains or towards the coast. Documentation and information on +33 2 98 62 14 94 or from the house of the Regional Natural Park which proposes outings and animations on the theme of the environment. Contact at +33 2 98 81 90 08.
The first Sunday of March, a book fair organized by the Musée du Loup.
The last Sunday of August, traditional forgiveness of St. Barnabas.
November 11, garage sales.
Ideal location for lovers of hiking combining nature and architectural heritage:
Landes of Cragou, abbey of the Relecq to 5 km.
Huelgoat Forest with its impressive granite chaos and trembling rock at 10 min.
Ridge of the Monts d'Arrée with jagged peaks (Trévezel rock) or rounded (Mont Saint-Michel de Brasparts with at its feet the Brennilis lake and all around the peat bogs).
Parish enclosures: witnesses of the 16th and 17th centuries of the wealth of certain parishes, linked to the cultivation of flax; Churches, calvaries, superbly decorated ossuaries; Plougonven (12 km), Saint-Thégonnec (18 km), Guimiliau (22 km), Sizun (27 km) and Plourin-lès-Morlaix, Pleyber-Christ.
Morlaix is only 10 mn: half-timbered houses, viaduct, museum, bowling alley, dance hall, cinemas; The sea goes up to the locks.
Wonderful coastline very varied:
Carantec and its famous castle of Taurus; Saint-Pol-de-Léon, its cathedral and its chapel of the Kreisker; Roscoff and its exotic garden, its casino, 10 minutes from the island of Batz, a little paradise.
Plouezoc'h and the tumulus of Barnenez; Plougasnou and the granitic points of the Diben, of Primel; Locquirec and its large beaches of fine sand; Plestin and its Gallo-Roman Baths...
A true happiness whatever the time of the year!
