A stone’s throw from the house: the Men Marz menhir

• Stroll
• For the whole family
• 750 metres from the villa

Take advantage of your walk to discover one of Brignogan’s treasures: the Men Marz menhir.

“Men Marz” is Breton for “the miracle stone”.
The name comes from an ancient local legend:
It is said that Saint Pol, seeing the sea threatening the lands of his abbey and those of his sister, threw stones to stop the waves. One of them, thrown by his sister, is said to have risen like a huge column. Since then, the sea has respected this boundary and never crossed it.

The Men Marz menhir is impressive for its size: it measures between 8.20 and 8.50 metres in height and weighs around 80 tonnes! It is the fourth largest menhir in Brittany, and one of the ten largest free-standing menhirs in France. It has been protected as a Monument Historique since 1889.

Depending on where you stand, its silhouette changes:

• Viewed from the east or west, the stone appears thin and slender.

• Viewed from the north or south, it appears triangular.
  The south face, where the stone appears to have been torn away, shows a recess at mid-height. On the north face, traces of weathering testify to centuries of exposure to the elements.

In 1996, the commune bought and demolished the house that stood next to the site. A year later, a development project was launched to better showcase this unique monument.