Fontaine de Kerbader & l'affaire Nédellec

At the end of the path lies the Kerbader fountain. Legend has it that its water has the power to give strength to children who are slow to walk. Every year, during the Pardon festival, a procession takes place to the fountain. It was here in Kerbader that the Fouesnant uprising took place at the start of the French Revolution. This uprising marked the beginning of the clashes in Brittany. Alain Nédellec, a resident of Fouesnant, was elected justice of the peace in 1790. He refused to take up his post until the certificate had been signed by the king, a common practice at the time. Two years later, he still had not agreed to take up his post. Together with his supporters, they decided to gather at Kerbader to prepare for the revolution. It was on 10 July 1792 that clashes broke out in the town of Fouesnant. Following this battle, the army suffered one death and around thirty wounded. Legend has it that Alain Nédellec fired a bullet into the guard’s head. For Nédellec and his men, however, the toll was far greater: 85 wounded, 5 dead and 23 prisoners, including Nédellec. He eventually managed to escape and returned to Fouesnant five months later. A trap was set for him; he was arrested and, after weeks of interrogation, sentenced to death. Thus, on 23 March 1793, he was guillotined in Quimper and was the only person in Brittany to be executed in this manner during the French Revolution.