Eglise Saint-Germain
ChurchHidden Treasure
Eglise Saint-Germain, located in Kerlaz (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
- Kerlaz, Département 29, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.0913, -4.2724
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00090017
Au cœur du Pays Bigouden, l'église Saint-Germain de Kerlaz déploie son clocher breton du XVIIe siècle autour d'un cimetière-enclos où veille un calvaire de 1645, joyau discret du patrimoine paroissial finistérien.
History
Nestling in the Breton countryside of Finistère, the church of Saint-Germain de Kerlaz is one of a constellation of parish monuments that make Western Brittany unique. Far from the ostentation of the great cathedrals, it embodies a popular faith fashioned in granite, carried by rural communities whose fervour was expressed in stone as much as in prayer. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1916, it bears precious witness to Breton religious architecture of the 16th and 17th centuries. What sets Saint-Germain de Kerlaz apart above all is the coherence of its parish complex. The enclosure, bounded by a masonry wall crowned with a gable roof, forms an autonomous sacred space, cut off from the secular world by a stone boundary, in keeping with the tradition of parish enclosures so characteristic of Léon and Cornouaille. At its centre, the 1645 calvary displays its statuary in silent contemplation, while the 1568 triumphal arch solemnly marks the threshold between the living and the dead. The interior is full of surprises for the attentive eye. The chevet houses a remarkably rich window depicting the Coronation of Thorns, the Crucifixion, the Descent from the Cross and Saint John the Baptist in the company of an anonymous donor - a fragile portrait of a 16th-century benefactor whose face has survived the centuries in the coloured light of the glass. A visit to Kerlaz is an ideal way to explore the parish enclosures of Cornouaille, alongside neighbouring Plomodiern and Locronan. For the curious visitor, it's a one-hour stopover that opens an intimate window on the Brittany of pardons and beliefs, the one that endures under the Atlantic showers in the permanence of grey granite.
Architecture
Saint-Germain church is in the tradition of Breton late Gothic architecture, tinged with the Renaissance influences that penetrated western Brittany in the second half of the 16th century. Built from local granite - an almost universal material in Cornwall, which gives the buildings their characteristic grey hue - it has a simple elongated plan, typical of rural churches in the region, with a single nave or aisles and a polygonal apse that concentrates the glazed decoration. The 1660 steeple, built on the west side, follows the classic Breton steeple vocabulary with its balustrade and lantern, with its freestanding stair turret added in 1671, which pleasantly breaks the symmetry of the façade. The triumphal arch dating from 1568 at the entrance to the cemetery has a moulded semi-circular profile, with a few discreet Renaissance ornaments already visible. The enclosure wall, crowned by a "bâtière" coping - i.e. a double-sloped roof - forms a functional and symbolic enclosure around the cemetery. Inside, the chevet window is the crowning glory: its iconographic composition in several registers - crowning of thorns, crucifixion, descent from the cross, Saint John the Baptist with donor - corresponds to a complete theological programme, probably financed by a local benefactor whose portrait in prayer bears witness to the devotional use of stained glass in wealthy Breton parishes in the 16th century. The baptismal font from 1567, carved in granite, completes the original liturgical furnishings, which are particularly precious in their historical continuity.
Related Figures
Saint Germain d'Auxerre — évêque gallo-romain (378-448) dont le patronage marque une dédicace ancienne et prestigieuseLe donateur anonyme du vitrail — bienfaiteur local du XVIe siècle représenté en priant dans la baie du chevet, identité perdueLes maîtres maçons inconnus de 1567-1568 — artisans bretons ayant conduit le premier chantier documenté de l'édificeLes sculpteurs du calvaire de 1645 — tailleurs de pierre cornouaillais perpétuant la tradition des Kersanton et du graniteLes fabriciens de la paroisse de Kerlaz — élites rurales locales qui financèrent les travaux du clocher entre 1660 et 1671
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Eglise Saint-Germain located?
Eglise Saint-Germain is located in Kerlaz, Département 29 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Eglise Saint-Germain built?
Eglise Saint-Germain dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Eglise Saint-Germain open to visitors?
Eglise Saint-Germain is currently closed to visitors.
