Châteaubriant

I love Châteaubriant. It's filled with history at every corner.

We visited La Roche aux Fées (the rock of the fairies) on the way there. The rocks make a small building which aligns with sunrise during winter solstice. It was built approximately 3000-2500 BC. Legend says it was built by fairies :-)

The château of Châteaubriant:

The medieval part is being renovated

The more recent parts

And the view from the château!

Churches are very central to the towns and hamlets in France.

The colourful posters were made by local schoolchildren

They still have the old confessionals! Apparently they're no longer used though, hence the lack of curtains

Joan of Arc

 The Carrière des Fusillés (quarry of the people who were shot) is very moving. 27 people were shot in retaliation for the death of a Nazi commander. Guy Moquet, a teenager, wrote a letter home to his family which is remembered to this day.

Every October there's a big ceremony and lots of people and organisations bring wreaths to the site.

The names of the 27 who were shot

Underneath the sculpture, earth was collected from many locations important to the Resistance

The plaque at the foot of the monument reads "Memorial of the shot and massacred of the Resistance"

 Discussing it afterwards, we decided the Nazis hadn't realised the propoganda value a letter home from a teenager on the eve of his death would have for the Resistance. Intended to subdue, these deaths instead spurred people on around the country.