Eglise Saint-Mathieu
ChurchHidden Treasure
Eglise Saint-Mathieu, located in Morlaix (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
- Morlaix, Département 29, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.5754, -3.8240
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00090128
A flamboyant Gothic jewel in the heart of Morlaix, Saint-Mathieu church is home to a Renaissance bell tower built between 1548 and 1593, a masterpiece attributed to the architect Yves Croazec and listed as a Historic Monument in 1914.
History
In the heart of Morlaix, a port city in Finistère with medieval alleyways and timber-framed houses, the church of Saint-Mathieu stands out as one of the most remarkable religious buildings in western Brittany. Its silhouette, dominated by a grey stone bell tower of slender proportions, has structured the urban landscape for over four centuries and bears witness to the prosperity of the merchants who brought this draping and corsair town to life during the Renaissance. What really sets Saint-Mathieu apart from the many other Breton churches is the coherence of its bell tower, the work of an entire generation of builders. Begun in 1548 and completed in 1593, the tower reveals a subtle transition between the late Gothic vocabulary, still dominant in the region, and the first Renaissance inflections that were beginning to penetrate Brittany via the sea and trade routes. Each layer of stone tells the story of a decade in the making, a collective effort supported by the town's merchants' guilds and corporations. The interior of the building offers visitors a light-filled, contemplative atmosphere, typical of the great Breton churches with a single nave or open side aisles. The generous proportions of the nave, the quality of the liturgical furnishings inherited over the centuries and the presence of stained-glass windows, some fragments of which are still extant, all contribute to making Saint-Mathieu a place of contemplation as much as a living document of Armorican sacred art. The immediate urban setting enhances the experience: just a few steps away, the famous lantern houses of Morlaix - bourgeois residences with open courtyards - are a reminder that the town was one of the busiest in Brittany in the 16th century. A visit to Saint-Mathieu means taking in, in a single glance, the golden age of a town whose proud motto sums up its spirit: "If they bite you, bite them".
Architecture
Saint-Mathieu church is in the late Breton Gothic style, characterised by the use of local granite, the sober ornamentation of the exterior facings and the robustness of the load-bearing structures. Like many Armorican buildings from the same period, it has a central nave flanked by aisles, opening onto an east-facing choir, in keeping with medieval liturgical tradition. The blue Léon granite masonry gives the church its characteristic colour, dark in the rain and almost silvery in the summer sun. The bell tower, the centrepiece of the building, is the most remarkable architectural feature. Built between 1548 and 1593 to designs by Yves Croazec, it illustrates the transition between the late Gothic and the Renaissance periods of the peninsula. Its composition of superimposed registers, punctuated by moulded stringcourses and openings with pointed arches and then semi-circular arches depending on the level, bears witness to the evolution in taste over the half-century of its construction. The crown, with its delicately worked balustrades and pinnacles, adds a relative lightness to the verticality of the whole, contrasting with the massiveness of the base. Inside, the nave arcades rest on granite columns or pillars with soberly moulded capitals. The liturgical furnishings, partially renewed in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, include woodwork, silverware and statuary that deserve the attention of the attentive visitor. Fragments of old stained glass windows, or neo-Gothic stained glass windows from the 19th century, filter the Atlantic light and bathe the nave in a soft, colourful light that is conducive to contemplation.
Related Figures
Yves Croazec — architecte breton du XVIe siècle, auteur des plans de la tour-clocher (1548-1593)Henri IV — roi de France dont le règne vit l'achèvement de la tour en 1593Les marchands drapiers de Morlaix — mécènes collectifs qui financèrent les travaux de l'édifice au XVIe siècleLes fabriants de la paroisse Saint-Mathieu — administrateurs laïcs garants de la continuité du chantier sur quarante-cinq ansLes architectes restaurateurs du XIXe siècle — intervenants anonymes chargés de consolider l'édifice après les désordres révolutionnaires
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Eglise Saint-Mathieu located?
Eglise Saint-Mathieu is located in Morlaix, Département 29 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Eglise Saint-Mathieu built?
Eglise Saint-Mathieu dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Eglise Saint-Mathieu open to visitors?
Eglise Saint-Mathieu is currently closed to visitors.
