Eglise Notre-Dame
ChurchHidden Treasure
Eglise Notre-Dame, located in Saint-Yvy (Département 29), 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
- Saint-Yvy, Département 29, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.9677, -3.9334
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00090444
At the heart of Finistère, the église Notre-Dame de Saint-Yvy reveals an ossuary with interlaced pointed arches and a calvary with a twisted shaft, jewels of Breton Gothic architecture from the 15th and 16th centuries.
History
Nestling in the peaceful market town of Saint-Yvy, in the heart of Finistère, Notre-Dame church is one of those Breton country buildings where, century after century, popular faith has given rise to an architecture of astonishing coherence. Far from the great cathedrals, it embodies the discreet richness of Cornouaille's rural heritage, where each stone bears witness to a community attached to its traditions and its dead. What makes Notre-Dame de Saint-Yvy truly unique is the ensemble formed by its ossuary and calvary, two characteristic elements of the Breton parish enclosure brought to remarkable refinement here. The ossuary, with its intertwined arcades creating secondary tiers-point arcades adorned with redents, is the result of a highly sophisticated late Gothic technique. The calvary, standing on an octagonal base encircled by a foliage band, features a twisted stem and four lamp-ends, testifying to the skills of the local stonemasons. The best way for visitors to explore the building is via the southern porch, rebuilt in the 16th century, which is a ceremonial entrance typical of Breton Renaissance religious architecture. The interior, marked by the addition of the transept at the same time, offers an expansive, luminous space where Gothic volumes interact harmoniously with Renaissance contributions. The bell tower, rebuilt in the early 18th century, gives the church a sober Baroque silhouette that contrasts pleasantly with the Gothic rigour of the rest of the building. From the surrounding paths, this silhouette rising above the slate roofs is the very image of inland Brittany, far from the coast and the tourist crowds, preserved in an authenticity that is all the more enjoyable for its rarity.
Architecture
The church of Notre-Dame de Saint-Yvy belongs to the late Breton Gothic style, enriched with Renaissance elements as practised in Cornouaille in the 16th century. The layout, initially a simple 15th-century nave, was made more complex by the addition of a transept, giving the building a more pronounced Latin cross. The southern porch, rebuilt in the 16th century, is the main feature of the exterior, with its mouldings and ornamentation characteristic of the decorative grammar of Renaissance Brittany. The bell tower, rebuilt at the beginning of the 18th century to replace an earlier medieval building, has a sober profile in local ashlar and a slate roof. The ossuary, set back from the church in the traditional Breton parish enclosure layout, has a particularly refined architectural layout. Its arcades intersect to form smaller secondary arcades in tiers-point, decorated with redents - Gothic ornaments in the shape of trifoliate leaves or trefoils that run along the spandrels of the arches. This technique, which multiplies the interplay of full and empty spaces, gives the ossuary an unexpected lightness and an almost lace-like effect. The calvary, standing on its octagonal base, combines Gothic heritage (the lamp arches and twisted stem) with a Mannerist decorative sensibility. The leafy band around the base bears witness to the mastery of local sculptors in the treatment of plant motifs.
Related Figures
Maîtres tailleurs de pierre cornouaillais du XVIe siècle, auteurs du calvaire et de l'ossuaireFabrique paroissiale de Saint-Yvy, commanditaire des agrandissements du XVIe siècleArchitectes ou maîtres d'œuvre locaux du début du XVIIIe siècle, responsables de la reconstruction du clocherInspecteurs des Monuments Historiques (années 1930), artisans de l'inscription de 1932
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Eglise Notre-Dame located?
Eglise Notre-Dame is located in Saint-Yvy, Département 29 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Eglise Notre-Dame built?
Eglise Notre-Dame dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Eglise Notre-Dame open to visitors?
Eglise Notre-Dame is currently closed to visitors.