Chapelle de Locmaria
MonumentHidden Treasure
Chapelle de Locmaria, located in Séglien (Département 56), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Séglien, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.1135, -3.1496
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00091736
Nestling in the Morbihan moors, the Locmaria chapel in Séglien is a soberly elegant example of Breton Gothic, with its flamboyantly carved windows and granite calvary watching over the hedged farmland.
History
In the heart of the commune of Séglien, in this inland Morbihan where the hills are covered with broom and moorland, the chapel of Locmaria stands like a fragment of a still world, away from the beaten tourist track. Its very name - Locmaria, "the place of Mary" in Breton - betrays a long-standing Marian cult that may well predate the stone construction of today's walls. It is here, in the intimacy of a parish enclosure reconstituted over the centuries, that the soul of rural Brittany is revealed in all its discretion. What makes Locmaria truly unique is the coherence of its transitional architecture, blending the last breaths of the flamboyant Gothic style with the first signs of the Breton Renaissance. The masons of the 15th century worked the local granite with astonishing mastery, sculpting sober mouldings, finely carved lintels and radiating bays that filter golden light into the nave. The 16th century brought a few additions - perhaps a porch or a side chapel - without disrupting the overall harmony. The experience of visiting the church is first and foremost a sensory one: the silence of the surrounding bocage, the discreet creaking of the oak portal, the freshness of the stone to the touch, the smell of wax and cold stone that greets the visitor. The votive offerings, the carefully folded processional banners and the polychrome statues of Breton saints are a reminder that this chapel is not a museum but a living place, still visited during the annual pardons. The natural setting adds to the magic of the place. Surrounded by old oak trees and bordered by a discreet ossuary, the chapel is set in a landscape of deep hedged farmland typical of Central Brittany, far from the over-visited coastline. For the photographer, the low-angled light of late autumn afternoons, when the glowing ferns contrast with the bluish grey of the granite, produces compositions of rare beauty.
Architecture
Locmaria chapel is fully in keeping with the tradition of Gothic rural chapels in the inner Morbihan, built between the late 15th and early 16th centuries from grey-blue granite quarried locally. It consists of a single nave of three bays, extended by a slightly projecting chancel and covered by an exposed timber frame or panelled vault, as was common practice in the region. The west facade, pierced by a pointed-arch portal with prismatic mouldings, is topped by a discreet granite bell tower typical of Breton village chapels - less imposing than the large bell towers of parish churches, but with a rural elegance all of its own. The side windows feature Gothic infills with bellows and spandrels, evidence of the late flamboyant style still in vogue in Brittany at a time when the Renaissance was triumphing in the Loire Valley. Inside, engaged pillars support the formetal arches, and sculpted bases - plant motifs, stylised human heads or angel figures - mark the spandrels. The interior furnishings include several polychrome wooden statues representing the Virgin Mary and local saints, some of which date back to the 16th or 17th century. The chapel's immediate surroundings also contribute to its heritage interest: an adjoining ossuary, a number of granite crosses planted in the grassy enclosure and perhaps the remains of a calvary make up this ensemble which, on a modest scale, is reminiscent of the large parish enclosures in the Landivisiau or Saint-Thégonnec region. The entire structure rests on solid foundations that bear witness to the skills of the local masons, who were able to work the hard granite with remarkable precision.
Related Figures
Les recteurs successifs de la paroisse de Séglien (XVe-XVIe siècles), commanditaires probables des campagnes de constructionLes maîtres maçons anonymes du Morbihan intérieur, artisans du granite ayant sculpté les moulures et remplagesLes seigneurs locaux de la noblesse rurale morbihannaise, mécènes de la fabrique paroissiale aux XVe et XVIe sièclesLes chouans de la région de Séglien, protecteurs officieux de la chapelle durant la Révolution françaiseLes érudits bretons de la Société polymathique du Morbihan (XIXe siècle), premiers à recenser et décrire l'édificeLes membres fondateurs de l'association locale de sauvegarde du patrimoine de Séglien (XXe siècle)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Chapelle de Locmaria located?
Chapelle de Locmaria is located in Séglien, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Chapelle de Locmaria built?
Chapelle de Locmaria dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Chapelle de Locmaria open to visitors?
Chapelle de Locmaria is currently closed to visitors.