Ancien prieuré de Locmaria, ancienne caserne Emeriau
AbbeyHidden Treasure
Ancien prieuré de Locmaria, ancienne caserne Emeriau, located in Quimper (Département 29), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- Abbey
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Quimper, Département 29, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.9883, -4.1128
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00090376
Aux portes de Quimper, l'ancien prieuré de Locmaria dévoile une église du XIe siècle et les vestiges d'un cloître de 1670 : un fragment d'éternité bretonne entre pierre romane et mémoire monastique.
History
Nestling in the Locmaria district on the banks of the River Odet, the former priory of the same name is one of the oldest conventual complexes in southern Brittany. Its church, whose foundations date back to the 11th century, is a sober and powerful example of Finistère Romanesque art, with its massive volumes, semi-circular arches and austere grey stonework so characteristic of the Cornish countryside. What makes Locmaria truly unique is the visible superimposition of several centuries of history on a single site. The attentive visitor can see the layers: the 11th-century Romanesque core, the 12th- and 16th-century alterations, the discreet elegance of the 17th-century cloister and its remains of arcatures, traces of a now silent community life. Few Breton monuments offer such a dialogue between the ages. A visit to the church will leave you in an atmosphere of contemplation and light, far removed from the hustle and bustle of the nearby town centre. The surviving arcatures of the cloister, stretching from the south arm of the transept to the enclosing wall of the east courtyard, create a semi-ruined space of melancholic beauty, perfect for contemplation and photography in any season. The site benefits from a remarkable natural setting: the immediate proximity of the Odet, a coastal river with gently tidal waters, lends the area a rare serenity. On spring mornings or autumn afternoons, when the low-angled light caresses the granite facings, the stone seems to wake up and whisper nine centuries of existence. Today, the site is a blend of heritage conservation and reuse: formerly transformed into the Emeriau barracks in the 19th century, it is a perfect example of those places with a double life that dot France's monumental heritage, bearing witness to both the revolutionary upheavals and the slow reclamation of memory that has taken place since the first protections were introduced in the 19th century.
Architecture
Locmaria church is a Romanesque building with a basilica floor plan, whose sober, compact volumes reflect the Cistercian and Benedictine aesthetic in force in 11th-century Brittany. Built from local granite - the king material of Cornish architecture - it has a nave flanked by aisles, a projecting transept and a flat or slightly expanded chevet, typical of rural priory churches of the period. The interior round arches rest on sturdy pillars whose simply moulded capitals bear witness to controlled, yet not excessive, ornamentation. The high, narrow windows filter in subdued light, reinforcing the atmosphere of contemplation inside. The 1670 cloister, the remains of which extend from the south arm of the transept to the enclosing wall of the east courtyard, belongs to the classical vocabulary of 17th-century France. The surviving arcatures - semi-circular or slightly lowered arches, supported by carved granite columns - form a gallery whose regular rhythm contrasts with the church's Romanesque massiveness. This dialogue between the two periods is one of the site's major architectural interests. The building campaigns of the 16th and 19th centuries have left their own mark: some openings were reworked during the Renaissance, and additions were made for military purposes in the 19th century. Despite these successive interventions, the legibility of the Romanesque church remains remarkable, and the site as a whole retains a spatial coherence that makes it a valuable architectural document for understanding medieval religious architecture in Finistère.
Related Figures
Religieuses bénédictines de Locmaria — communauté fondatrice du XIe siècle, gardiennes du prieuré jusqu'à la RévolutionAbbés de Saint-Sulpice de Rennes — tuteurs ecclésiastiques du prieuré à partir de 1132Amiral Maurice-Julien Emeriau (1762-1831) — officier de la marine impériale dont le nom fut attribué à la caserne aménagée sur le siteProsper Mérimée (1803-1870) — inspecteur des Monuments Historiques dont l'action contribua à la politique de protection des édifices médiévaux bretonsÉvêques de Cornouaille — protecteurs et bienfaiteurs de l'abbaye aux XIe et XIIe siècles
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Ancien prieuré de Locmaria, ancienne caserne Emeriau located?
Ancien prieuré de Locmaria, ancienne caserne Emeriau is located in Quimper, Département 29 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Ancien prieuré de Locmaria, ancienne caserne Emeriau built?
Ancien prieuré de Locmaria, ancienne caserne Emeriau dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Ancien prieuré de Locmaria, ancienne caserne Emeriau open to visitors?
Ancien prieuré de Locmaria, ancienne caserne Emeriau is currently closed to visitors.
