Locronan, Small town with character

Wonderfully preserved, the granite city has preserved very beautiful Renaissance residences and its magnificent 15th century church.

Taking its name from Saint-Ronan, a hermit who founded the town in the 10th century, Locronan reached its apogee in the 16th century thanks to the sailcloth industry which had the largest sponsors including the Compagnie des Indes.

But the end of sailing and the beginning of industrialisation had a profound effect on the economy of Locronan. The decline that began in the 17th century worsened in the 19th century.
It was only in the second half of the 20th century that tourism revived the town of stone. An ideal setting for film shoots, more than 20 films or short films have been made here, including “Tess” by Roman Polanski and “Les Chouans” by Philippe de Broca.

Today, nestled against the side of its mountain drowned in forests, Locronan has kept from the time of its splendour, a beautiful square with its granite houses, built during the Renaissance, its old well, a vast 15th century church and its pretty chapel.

This unique architectural ensemble has enabled the town to obtain the labels of “Petite cité de caractère” and “Plus beaux villages de France”.

A druidic stronghold 2500 years ago, the rite still continues in the form of the Grande Troménie (every six years) and the Petite Troménie performed every year between each Grande Troménie and which this year will take place on Sunday, July 9, 2017.

Hundreds of pilgrims will bring out the relics of Saint Ronan to make a 6km journey around Locronan, in a great religious and popular fervour.

An always unforgettable spectacle that these men and women in costume, these banners embroidered with silk and gold, and these Breton songs that resound in the Locronan countryside, will delight the many pilgrims who have come from all over Brittany.