Eglise Saint-Emilion
ChurchHidden Treasure
Eglise Saint-Emilion, located in Loguivy-Plougras (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
- Loguivy-Plougras, Département 22, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.5213, -3.4875
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00089311
A Breton Gothic jewel from the 16th century, the church of Saint-Émilion in Loguivy-Plougras features sculpted sandstones of rare finesse and a bell tower built in the middle of the Renaissance period, testimony to a preserved Armorican terroir.
History
Nestling in the heart of the Côtes-d'Armor region, in the quiet market town of Loguivy-Plougras, the church of Saint-Émilion is one of those Breton chapels that condense several centuries of history within their granite walls. Begun in 1516, according to the inscription engraved above its side porch, it bears witness to the religious and artistic vitality of inland Brittany at the dawn of the Renaissance, a time when parishes competed in generosity to provide their patron saint with a worthy shrine. What makes Saint-Émilion truly unique is the quality of its interior framework. The wooden vaults, rebuilt during the restoration work at the end of the 19th century, have retained their original carved tie-beams and runners - long pieces of wood running along the base of the walls and decorated with figures, foliage and fantastic creatures typical of Breton iconography. These carved elements form a veritable hanging museum, reflecting the beliefs, fears and popular humour of Renaissance craftsmen. The experience of visiting is one of gradual discovery: you have to take the time to let your eyes adjust to the subdued light filtered through the glass roofs, to look up at the timbers and decipher the narrative scenes engraved there. The sober elevation of the granite walls contrasts with the decorative richness of the wood, creating a typically Armorican aesthetic tension between austerity and ornamental profusion. The church is set in a landscape of hedged farmland and moorland, with the Monts d'Arrée crowning the horizon. The bell tower, completed in 1566, dominates the village with its sober elegance, a visual landmark for pilgrims who once walked the sunken paths of this granite and slate country. Listed as a historic monument since 1912, Saint-Émilion is now one of the best-preserved religious buildings in the canton, and one of the few to offer such a coherent interpretation of Breton Renaissance sacred art.
Architecture
Saint-Émilion church is part of the great tradition of Breton religious architecture of the Renaissance, which borrows its structural principles from the Flamboyant Gothic while incorporating a number of new decorative motifs. The sober, massive exterior is typical of the granite of the Côtes-d'Armor region: thick walls, pointed arch or semi-circular openings depending on the section, and a modest but well-proportioned bell tower with shoulders, completed in 1566 and serving as a landmark in the surrounding hedged farmland. The side porch, cut into the façade, is one of the most remarkable features of the exterior; it is above it that the inscription commemorating the dates of construction was engraved, a veritable lapidary chronicle of the building's history. The interior reveals the true wealth of the building. The nave, covered by a wooden panelled roof structure, features the sculpted runners that justified its protection as a historic monument. These long pieces of wood running along the sides of the walls and the cross-beams are decorated with a variety of motifs: expressive faces, grotesque heads, animal scenes, interlacing plants - a whole iconographic repertoire characteristic of 16th-century Breton folk art, halfway between piety and fantasy. The original polychromy has disappeared, but the quality of the chiselling is still clearly visible in the wood, darkened by the centuries. The interior space, enlarged during the 1898 renovation works, now offers a coherent volume that showcases these decorations to their best advantage, in the filtered light of the side bays.
Related Figures
Les maîtres-maçons bretons anonymes de 1516, initiateurs du chantierLes charpentiers-sculpteurs ayant réalisé les sablières et entraits ornés (XVIe siècle)Les membres de la fabrique paroissiale du XVIe siècle, commanditaires de l'édificeLe curé ou recteur de 1898, artisan de l'élévation au rang d'église paroissialeLes architectes des Monuments historiques ayant supervisé la restauration de 1898Les membres de la Commission des monuments historiques ayant instruit le classement de 1912
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Eglise Saint-Emilion located?
Eglise Saint-Emilion is located in Loguivy-Plougras, Département 22 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Eglise Saint-Emilion built?
Eglise Saint-Emilion dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Eglise Saint-Emilion open to visitors?
Eglise Saint-Emilion is currently closed to visitors.
