Ancienne église, actuellement chapelle Sainte-Eutrope
ChurchHidden Treasure
Ancienne église, actuellement chapelle Sainte-Eutrope, located in Langourla (Département 22), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- Church
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Langourla, Département 22, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.2850, -2.4143
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00089248
A striking vestige of a vanished church, the octagonal tower of Langourla raises its timber-framed spire into the Breton sky. Its four pointed doors and stair turret make it a Gothic gem from the 16th century.
History
In the heart of the Costa Rican bocage, in the discreet village of Langourla, stands a fragment of architecture that defies time and oblivion: the octagonal tower of the former parish church, now consecrated as the chapel of Sainte-Eutrope. This solitary vestige, listed as a Historic Monument since 1965, has a rare dignity that stems precisely from its status as a survivor - the only element spared when the decision was taken to demolish the building in the aftermath of the Second Empire. What sets this tower apart from the multitude of other Breton bell towers is first and foremost its octagonal plan, which is relatively unusual in the rural parish architecture of the region. On each of its sides, or nearly so, are full pointed arch doors whose delicately sculpted archivolts reveal small engaged columns supporting a stone vault. This confined interior space thus becomes a real little vaulted room, subtle and unexpected, surprising visitors who might have thought they were admiring a simple bell tower. To the north, a cylindrical turret houses a spiral staircase that once gave bell ringers access to the upper floors. This appendage grafted onto the octagonal mass accentuates the dynamism of the silhouette and recalls the great portal towers of inland Brittany, where the ostentatious often vies with the sacred. The timber-framed spire that crowns the whole, rebuilt or maintained over the centuries, gives the building its characteristic verticality, a visible signal from the surrounding sunken lanes. To visit Sainte-Eutrope Chapel is to allow yourself to be disturbed by an architectural paradox: an edifice reduced to its single tower that has lost none of its coherence or beauty. The silence that envelops this monument, surrounded by vegetation and low walls of Breton schist, makes it an ideal place of contemplation for those seeking to understand how a 16th-century farming community conceived the relationship between stone, faith and eternity.
Architecture
The octagonal tower at Langourla belongs to the late Gothic vocabulary as practised in inland Brittany in the 16th century, a far cry from the great coastal cathedrals but with undeniable technical mastery. Its eight-sided plan, unusual in rural parish architecture, gives it a slender, geometrically rigorous silhouette that contrasts with the square or rectangular bell towers more common in the region. The masonry, probably made from local granite or schist depending on the resources of the Costarmoricain subsoil, has a meticulous structure that betrays the work of specialised craftsmen rather than purely village labour. The four pointed-arched doors are the building's main architectural feature. Each of these openings is treated with care: inside, small engaged columns - probably with moulded capitals in the flamboyant Gothic tradition - support a stone vault that transforms the passageway into a real architectural feature in its own right. This tiny but coherent interior vaulted space is reminiscent of the side porches of the great Breton churches, condensed here to the scale of a rural tower. To the north, the cylindrical turret housing the spiral staircase forms a transitional element between the main mass and the belfry storeys, pragmatically resolving the issue of vertical circulation while enriching the volumetric composition of the whole. The timber-framed spire that crowns the tower, probably covered in slate in accordance with Breton custom, extends the octagonal geometry of the base skywards, forming a complete and balanced silhouette that can be admired from the surrounding roads.
Related Figures
Sainte-Eutrope — martyr et évangélisateur dont le monument porte le vocableLes maîtres maçons anonymes du XVIe siècle — artisans bretons auteurs de la tourLes fabriciens de Langourla du XIXe siècle — décideurs de la démolition et de la préservation de la tourAndré Malraux — ministre des Affaires culturelles sous le gouvernement duquel fut signé le décret de classement en 1965
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Ancienne église, actuellement chapelle Sainte-Eutrope located?
Ancienne église, actuellement chapelle Sainte-Eutrope is located in Langourla, Département 22 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Ancienne église, actuellement chapelle Sainte-Eutrope built?
Ancienne église, actuellement chapelle Sainte-Eutrope dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Ancienne église, actuellement chapelle Sainte-Eutrope open to visitors?
Ancienne église, actuellement chapelle Sainte-Eutrope is currently closed to visitors.