Moulin de Crémeur, Historical windmill in Guérande, France.
Moulin de Crémeur is a small-footed Breton windmill in Guérande, its cylindrical tower built of grey stone blocks and topped by a conical roof of wooden shingles. Four long lattice sails of wooden slats form an X across the upper half, and a small stone dormer window protrudes from the tower. The mill no longer has its internal mechanism.
The mill likely dates from the late 15th century, when the seigneurie de Crémeur belonged to Tristan de Carné (1476–1536), named captain of Guérande by Duchess Anne of Brittany in 1513. It stopped operating at the end of the 18th century and was restored in the 1980s. It has been listed as a monument historique since 1901.
The mill's nickname, the Devil's Mill, comes from a tale about Yves Kerbic, too poor to build a mill, who accepted the Devil's offer to raise it in one night in exchange for his soul. At the morning Angelus the last stone was missing; the miller placed a statuette of the Virgin in a niche and made the sign of the cross, and Satan fled in a whirlwind of fire. The mill of Crémeur also appears in a stained-glass window of the Pen-Bron chapel in La Turballe.
The structure is a classified monument that can only be viewed from outside since the interior is not accessible to visitors. It sits within the historic town of Guérande and can be easily reached on foot from the surrounding streets.
The legend says the Devil built the mill in one night for Yves Kerbic's soul, but the last stone was missing at the morning Angelus. The miller placed a small statue of the Virgin in a niche and crossed himself, and Satan fled in a whirlwind of fire. The mill also appears in a stained-glass window of the Pen-Bron chapel in La Turballe.
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