The name Faouët comes from the Breton “faou” meaning “beech”. These trees are still very numerous there. The town owes its origin to a feudal castle which has now disappeared. Geoffroy du Faouët, a contemporary of Saint Louis, would have participated in the first crusade in 1095.
Anne of Brittany elevated the lordship of Faouët, then belonging to the Boutteville family, to the rank of barony in 1495. The Bouttevilles were great builders to whom we owe, in particular, the chapel of Sainte-Barbe and that of Saint-Fiacre which houses a magnificent rood screen. The Goulaine and du Fresnay families succeeded them.
In the 18th century, Le Faouët was greatly agitated by the escapades of Marie-Louise Tromel, better known under the name of Marion du Faouët. This famous gang leader plundered the entire region with the help of her bandits for about fifteen years before being arrested and hanged.
From the middle of the 19th century, it was the quieter presence of painters that characterized the town. At the beginning of the 20th century, even more of them stayed or settled in Faouët, whose rich heritage they immortalized, including the old market halls from 1542, which house the market twice a month.
