Eglise Saint-Jean-Baptiste
ChurchHidden Treasure
Eglise Saint-Jean-Baptiste, located in Lézardrieux (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
- Lézardrieux, Département 22, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.7865, -3.1047
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00089305
Dressée au cœur du Trégor breton, l'église Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Lézardrieux dévoile des sablières sculptées du XVIe siècle d'une rare finesse, peuplées de personnages et d'animaux fantastiques, témoins silencieux d'un art populaire medieval.
History
As you wander through the narrow streets of Lézardrieux, a small Breton town nestling on the banks of the Trieux river, the church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste stands out as one of the most endearing landmarks in the religious heritage of the Trégor region. Its Latin cross plan, generous side aisles and 18th-century bell tower form a familiar and soothing silhouette, just like this granite country where every stone seems to have been laid with care and memory. What really sets the building apart from the many Breton parish churches is the intimate richness of its interior decoration. The choir runners - the horizontal pieces of wood connecting the runners to the walls - are adorned with a procession of small figures and animals carved with astonishing vitality. Scenes from daily life, fantastic or symbolic bestiary: here we find the facetious and profoundly human spirit of the Breton craftsmen of the Renaissance, who liked to slip into sacred places a little of the verve of the secular world. Visiting Saint-Jean-Baptiste also means entering into an atmosphere of subdued contemplation, where the light filters softly through the high windows of the nave. The verticality of the transept, the sobriety of the walls and the warmth of the carved wood create a rare balance between Gothic austerity and Renaissance fantasy. The attentive visitor will take the time to look up at the timbers and read, in each figure, a little of the soul of the builders who have passed away. The village of Lézardrieux, set in one of the most beautiful river valleys in the Côtes-d'Armor, offers an exceptional setting in which to extend your visit. The harbour, the meandering Trieux and the changing lights of the Breton sky make this stopover a moment of fulfilment for heritage lovers and ordinary travellers in search of authenticity.
Architecture
Saint-Jean-Baptiste church has a Latin cross plan, typical of Breton religious architecture of the 15th and 16th centuries. The main nave, flanked by two aisles, extends over six bays, giving the building a scale commensurate with the importance of a maritime and trading parish in the Trégor region. The slightly projecting transept clearly marks the crossing and articulates the transition to the choir, whose liturgical orientation towards the east is respected according to tradition. The bell tower, built in 1749, adopts a sober classical style, in a measured break with the flamboyant Gothic vocabulary of the older parts. The materials used are those of the local building tradition: bluish granite from the Côtes-d'Armor dominates the exterior masonry, giving the whole a luminous austerity that is tempered by the mouldings and colonnettes in the bays. Inside, the oak framework is the most spectacular decorative element. The runners in the choir are carved with a bestiary and a gallery of remarkably lively characters - expressive faces, real or fantastical animals, sometimes mixed with plant motifs - testifying to the skills of Breton carpenters during the Renaissance. The overall structure combines the Gothic solidity of the nave with the relative lightness of the high windows, which illuminate the interior space with diffuse light. The wall-belfry mentioned in the sources, present in an early form before the reconstruction of 1749, bears witness to an architectural tradition specific to Trégor and Léon, where this type of element served both as a belfry and as a visual signal in the rural landscape.
Related Figures
Artisans menuisiers bretons de 1580, auteurs des sablières sculptées du chœurMaître d'œuvre anonyme de la reconstruction de 1580Maître charpentier du clocher (1749)Recteurs successifs de la paroisse de Lézardrieux, gardiens de l'édifice au fil des sièclesInspecteurs des Monuments Historiques ayant instruit le dossier de protection (1948)
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Eglise Saint-Jean-Baptiste located?
Eglise Saint-Jean-Baptiste is located in Lézardrieux, Département 22 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Eglise Saint-Jean-Baptiste built?
Eglise Saint-Jean-Baptiste dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Eglise Saint-Jean-Baptiste open to visitors?
Eglise Saint-Jean-Baptiste is currently closed to visitors.
