Javron, also on the way to Fougères, is a small town of two thousand inhabitants, and the former site of a monastery, founded by Clotaire for an anchorite named Constantin. The present church is built over the tomb of this saint.
The situation of Fougères is truly remarkable. It is, moreover, a remarkable place in itself, and is to be reckoned as one of these delightful spots to visit, which, if not exactly popular tourist resorts, are at least as satisfying to the curiously inclined.
Fougères in all ways is this, and more. It is almost the best example of a walled and fortified town of the middle ages existing in all North France. Its situation, on a great hill, with its tower-flanked walls and gates, is one of surpassing impressiveness, although to-day the general aspect of the little city of twenty thousand inhabitants is modern enough.
Fougères was one of the original nine baronies of Brittany, and owes its origin to a château which Méen, the son of Juhel Béranger, Count of Rennes, constructed at the beginning of the ninth century.
To-day the city walls, the remains of the château, and the gates and watch-towers are admirably preserved. The castle itself is nothing more than a vast ruin, whose entrance, formed by three towers, plainly shows it to date from the twelfth century.
Plan of the Ancient Walls and Towers of Fougères