Ecomuseums Finistère

The hamlet of Kerouat is a place over time. When you leave the hotel, you can quietly follow the shady and landscaped road. Little by little, by entering the buildings, we imagine the daily life of the sucker family who occupied the places for 5 generations, until 1965. The wheels of the mills rotate, the dwelling houses and the stables contain objects of everyday life (closed bed, safe, cupboards, various tools). It is a good overview of the living conditions of the occupants. Animations are the seasons such as the production workshop of bread made with the techniques of the past. The house Cornec, a few kilometres from there on the town of Saint Villé, completes the visit.

Finistère is the department that counted the most mills in its territory: there are no fewer. 3,800 mills listed. Powered by the Mignonne, the river of Daoulas, this mill was built in medieval times and served as a millstone from 1936 to 1970. Completely refurbished and transformed into a museum, it offers a museum that plays a role in its operation. The technical aspect is also addressed, with machinery mechanisms still under way. Finally, the headquarters of the Finistère Mills Association have settled there and can pass on many information to the fans of this heritage.

It was here that the first ecomuseum of France was created in 1968. As you enter the permises, you get the impression that time has stopped. But of the two houses characteristic of traditional housing architecture in Ouessant, only one remains, the second having been destroyed by arson (which affected several sites on the island), in July 2017. If the ground floor and the attic were designed in a very functional way, the interior distribution appeals to the visitor: a partitioning system frees up two rooms of similar dimensions at both ends of the house. One of them, equipped with tables, benches-chests, enclosed beds and a fireplace, is the living room. The room at the other end has the same configuration but its decoration is neat and the woods are worked. It is the ceremonial room of the house, which is only used for entertaining on special occasions. Furniture, objects, engravings, photos and costumes are all testimonies to the rich hours of the island in the last century.