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<< Text Pages >> Fontaine Ste-Onenn - Holy Well or Sacred Spring in France in Bretagne:Morbihan (56)

Submitted by Sunny100 on Tuesday, 18 January 2011  Page Views: 4469

Springs and Holy WellsSite Name: Fontaine Ste-Onenn Alternative Name: St Onenna's Well, St Nenna's Well, St Hwenna's Well
Country: France Département: Bretagne:Morbihan (56) Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring
Nearest Town: Ploermel  Nearest Village: Trehorenteuc
Latitude: 48.008300N  Longitude: 2.2876W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
 3 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 3 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
 3 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
 4

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Fontaine Ste-Onenn (St Onenna's Well) is an interesting little holy well that has been hidden away and remains something of a secretive place. It is said to be located just north of the village of Trehorenteuc in the Canton of Mauron in a corner of a farmer's field on what is private land. The forest of Broceliande lies just east of the village. [Please go to the Tourist information office in the village - they will put you in touch with a guide]. It is a pilgrimage site that is dedicated to the 7th century St Onenna. Please note the above latitude/longitude is for the village church.

Legend tells us that St Onenna was the sister of King Judicael of Brittany, but at the age of 10 she ran away from the luxury of her father's palace in Paimpont. She came to what is now Trehorenteuc where she lived with a poor family and began to care for local people who were living in very bad conditions and suffering ill health. Every day she placed flowers at the altar in the church, and she apparently tended a flock of geese. Legend also says she managed to thwart a gang of ruffians who were attempting to ransack the village.

The well with its narrow entrance is of pre-Christian origins, and is situated under a small raised mound. Steps go down into a pool of water which is some 10 foot below ground level. The well chamber is quadrilateral is shape and the sides are supported by stonework; there is a niche in the wall that may have held a statue. The water once cured lung problems, menstral problems and was also good for poor eyesight. Two pilgrimages to the well occur every year, generally on or around the saint's feastday 30th April.

The church back in the village used to be dedicated to St Onenna, but in the early 1900s it was re-dedicated to The Holy Grael. A window inside depicts the legend of the saint who died at the young age of 28 in 650 CE. The nearby Forest of Broceliande is associated with King Arthur and Merlin. Legend has it that the Holy Grael itself was buried somewhere in the area. But just where ?
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Nearby Images from Flickr
L'amour au Val sans Retour.
La Val-sans-Retour.
Paimpont
Qui veut m'accompagner dans le val enchanté d'oů l'on ne revient jamais ?
Manoir ŕ Tréhorenteuc.
Brocéliande-2

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 870m NNW 339° Butte-Ronde Chambered Tomb
 1.3km N 354° Jardin-aux-Moines tumulus* Chambered Tomb
 1.6km ESE 120° SĂ©pulture mĂ©galithique de Rauco Cist
 1.7km ESE 123° L'HotiĂ© de Viviane* Chambered Tomb
 2.3km SE 143° Tombeau des GĂ©ants* Passage Grave
 2.3km ESE 105° Coffre de la Guette Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 3.3km SE 137° Le Tombeau du GĂ©ant* Chambered Tomb
 4.5km NE 42° Fontaine de Barenton* Holy Well or Sacred Spring
 5.6km ESE 103° AllĂ©e Couverte de l'Orgeril Passage Grave
 7.3km SSE 164° AllĂ©e Couverte de Brambelay Passage Grave
 8.1km N 1° Dolmen dit Pierre des Champs-Morgan Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 8.2km SW 226° Hino allĂ©e couverte* Passage Grave
 8.9km NNE 31° AllĂ©e Couverte dite Le Rocher Passage Grave
 9.3km SSE 160° AllĂ©e couverte dite de Roherman* Passage Grave
 13.2km S 177° AllĂ©e couverte dite la Roche des FĂ©es* Passage Grave
 13.6km SE 146° AllĂ©e Couverte dite le Tombeau des Rochettes Passage Grave
 14.1km NE 54° Tombeau des Anglais (Paimpont)* Passage Grave
 14.1km NE 52° Menhir de Coisbois* Standing Stone (Menhir)
 14.2km SSW 198° Maison Neuve menhir* Standing Stone (Menhir)
 14.2km NE 46° Menhirs de la Lande de Saint-Jean Standing Stone (Menhir)
 14.4km SSW 199° Piprais menhir* Standing Stone (Menhir)
 14.5km ENE 63° Tombeau de la Duchesse d'Angoulème Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 14.6km SW 224° Haut BĂ©zon allĂ©e couverte* Passage Grave
 14.6km SSE 147° La Verrie menhir* Standing Stone (Menhir)
 14.7km SW 227° Ville Bouquet allĂ©e couverte* Passage Grave
View more nearby sites and additional images

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"Fontaine Ste-Onenn" | Login/Create an Account | 11 News and Comments
  
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Re: St Onenna's Well (Trehorenteuc) by Sunny100 on Saturday, 18 October 2014
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This is a good website link for St Onenna http://celticsaints.org/2009/0430e.html
[ Reply to This ]

Re: St Onenna's Well (Trehorenteuc) by Sunny100 on Friday, 17 October 2014
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Oh god that's a difficult one, I don't know which site I used for this Pab, as I delete most sites etc. Or did I get it from a book - can't remember. I will look through my library and see. Will get back to you on this. I remember it was referred to as St Onenna's holy well, but it should have said Fontaine Sainte Onenna. There are a few good websites regarding this place on the old Google thingy.
[ Reply to This ]
    Re: St Onenna's Well (Trehorenteuc) by PAB on Monday, 20 October 2014
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    Thanks Sonny. ..There was so much information in that post, it would be great to know the title, I'm always on look out for good ref books!
    [ Reply to This ]
    Re: St Onenna's Well (Trehorenteuc) by Sunny100 on Monday, 20 October 2014
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    Sorry PAB, can't help you much more. I checked my books and it's not mentioned there, and the website I originally researched appears to have dropped out. However, there a lot of info on the site page, and if you look up St Onenna you might find some helpful pointers. It would be nice to have a few photos of this fountain/well. I suspect St Onenna was a Cornish/Welsh saint.
    [ Reply to This ]

Re: St Onenna's Well (Trehorenteuc) by PAB on Wednesday, 15 October 2014
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Hi Sonny - can you please post up a link to the source (no pun intended!) for the information on this spring? I am hoping to visit some of these lovely places in Brittany and want to read up on some of those you've posted. Thanks, pab
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Fontaine Ste-Onenn by Sunny100 on Wednesday, 19 January 2011
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Thanks Captain. How did you manage to find that ? You obviously know Brittany very well me thinks.
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Re: Fontaine Ste-Onenn by TheCaptain on Wednesday, 19 January 2011
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picture here
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Re: Fontaine Ste-Onenn by Sunny100 on Wednesday, 19 January 2011
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The Fontaine le Broceliande is not the same place. St Onenna's well is not regarded as a fountain as far as I know. This well is underground and no fountain visible.
[ Reply to This ]
    Re: Fontaine Ste-Onenn by TheCaptain on Wednesday, 19 January 2011
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    Sunny. Fontaine is the French word for a spring. It does not mean a fountain with water pumping into the air like it usually does in English!

    Check the ign geoportail link - blue aeroplane icon, change the picture from aerial photo to map, fiddle with the scale bar and it will show you the exact place of the spring. A few hundred metres northeast of the church.
    [ Reply to This ]
    Re: Fontaine Ste-Onenn by Sunny100 on Wednesday, 19 January 2011
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    Ok Captain, yes I know but strangely enough I can't find this well referred to as a "Fountain" that what I was pointing out. Thanks anyway.

    Click on the link http://yourlifeisatrip.com/travel-photo-gallery/healing-at-saint-onenns-holy-well-brittany/
    [ Reply to This ]

Re: St Onenna's Well (Trehorenteuc) by Sunny100 on Tuesday, 18 January 2011
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Thanks once again Andy. Very sorry. Just can't get these French Longs and Lats correct first time. I don't need to 'eat my head' now or is it "hat"! Cheers.
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