Chapelle Notre-Dame de la Croix
MonumentHidden Treasure
Chapelle Notre-Dame de la Croix, located in Plélauff (Département 22), 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
- Plélauff, Département 22, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.2049, -3.2085
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00089406
Nichée dans le cœur breton de Plélauff, cette chapelle en granit du XVIe siècle fascine par son jubé peint exceptionnel et son portail ogival couronné d'une croix en accolade flanquée de têtes d'anges.
History
In the heart of the Côtes-d'Armor region, in the peaceful market town of Plélauff, the chapel of Notre-Dame de la Croix stands as a discreet but moving testimony to Breton popular devotion. Built of grey granite, this shrine packs a remarkable amount of heritage into a modest space: a finely sculpted ogival portal, a bell tower with a spire accessible by external stone staircases, and above all a painted wooden rood screen whose presence imbues the building with a unique atmosphere. What makes the chapel truly unique is the survival of this rood screen - a piece of liturgical furniture that has become extremely rare in Brittany since the great post-Tridentine suppression campaigns. Its two sides are decorated with paintings that evoke an intense folk art, combining warm colours and devout iconography typical of 16th century Brittany. The four fluted wooden columns with composite capitals that support it bear witness to a surprising decorative ambition for a country chapel. The visit offers a rare contemplative experience: you enter the nave through a doorway crowned by a bracketed arch - a flamboyant Gothic motif typical of Breton workshops - to find yourself facing this painted wooden screen that once divided the sacred space between clergy and faithful. The subdued light filtering through the granite windows gives the whole place a contemplative, timeless atmosphere. The semicircular apse, added in the 18th century, is a harmonious extension of the original nave, revealing how Breton rural communities knew how to adapt their places of worship to changes in liturgy without denying their built heritage. The surrounding countryside, with its Armorican bocage and sunken lanes, reinforces the sense of confidential discovery that is typical of country chapels. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1925, Notre-Dame de la Croix is the perfect embodiment of the local heritage that makes up the unique richness of inland Brittany: humble in appearance, precious in detail, irreplaceable in its sincerity.
Architecture
Notre-Dame de la Croix chapel is built entirely of granite, the preferred material of Armorican builders for its robustness and local abundance. The building has an elongated plan, the result of two separate construction campaigns: a rectangular nave dating from the 16th century, extended in the 18th century by a semi-circular apse. The sober, squat west facade is topped by a bell tower with a slender spire - a common architectural type in inland Brittany - to which two external stone staircases give access, a practical and aesthetic solution typical of local taste. The portal, the centrepiece of the façade, is a fine example of the art of Breton stonemasons in the 16th century: its ogival vault inherits the flamboyant Gothic style, while the arch above it, finished with a cross in relief flanked by two angels' heads, reveals the decorative refinement of the workshop that worked on the building. This combination of medieval heritage and Renaissance motifs is typical of Breton architecture of the period. Inside, the wooden rood screen is the most remarkable feature. Occupying the entire width of the nave, it once divided the space between the choir reserved for the clergy and the nave for the faithful. Its two sides bear paintings whose iconographic programme, combining devotional scenes and ornamental motifs, is representative of Breton popular religious decorative art. Four fluted wooden columns with composite capitals - borrowing from classical vocabulary - supported the structure, testifying to a Renaissance influence that reached even the most modest rural patrons.
Related Figures
Commanditaires paroissiaux anonymes du XVIe siècle — vraisemblablement des notables de Plélauff ayant financé la construction initialeArtisans tailleurs de pierre bretons — maîtres d'œuvre du portail ogival et de l'arc en accolade sculptéMenuisiers et peintres locaux du XVIe siècle — auteurs du jubé en bois peint et de ses colonnes canneléesArchitecte ou maître maçon anonyme du XVIIIe siècle — concepteur de l'abside ajoutéeConservateur des Monuments Historiques des Côtes-du-Nord — initiateur de l'inscription protectrice de 1925
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Chapelle Notre-Dame de la Croix located?
Chapelle Notre-Dame de la Croix is located in Plélauff, Département 22 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Chapelle Notre-Dame de la Croix built?
Chapelle Notre-Dame de la Croix dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Chapelle Notre-Dame de la Croix open to visitors?
Chapelle Notre-Dame de la Croix is currently closed to visitors.
