Eglise Saint-Pierre de Quimerch
ChurchHidden Treasure
Eglise Saint-Pierre de Quimerch, located in Pont-de-Buis-lès-Quimerch (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
- Pont-de-Buis-lès-Quimerch, Département 29, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.2964, -4.0706
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00090295
Nichée dans le Finistère, l'église Saint-Pierre de Quimerch déploie une flèche ajourée du XVIe siècle et un calvaire à fût unique d'une rare élégance — joyau de l'art breton classé Monument Historique.
History
In the heart of the commune of Pont-de-Buis-lès-Quimerch, in deep Finistère, the church of Saint-Pierre de Quimerch stands out as one of the most accomplished examples of 16th-century Breton religious architecture. Far from the beaten tourist track, it retains the authentic atmosphere that heritage enthusiasts tirelessly seek out in the Armorican countryside. The first thing that strikes visitors is the slender silhouette of the bell tower, crowned by a high spire whose lower part is pierced by delicate openings, playing with the grey or golden light of the Breton sky depending on the time of day. This lacy stonework is testimony to the exceptional skills of the kersanton and granite carvers who worked in the region at the time. Inside, the date 1550, engraved at the entrance to the choir, anchors the building in the splendid period when Breton parishes vied with each other in magnificence to honour their patron saints. The parish enclosure surrounding the church is well worth a visit in itself. The calvary, a rare type known as a "single shaft", raises its thieves' crosses to the sky on slender corbels, while the figures of the Virgin and Saint John watch over them with late Gothic grace. The ruins of the ossuary, dating from the late 16th century, add a melancholy and poetic dimension to the whole - a reminder that these places were for a long time at the heart of the life and death of a rural community. The southern porch, dismantled in 1875 and reassembled as a funeral chapel in the cemetery of the new town, illustrates the strange continuity of Breton heritage: even when moved, stone continues to serve and bear witness. To visit Saint-Pierre de Quimerch is to cross several layers of time in a few steps, in a setting of absolute serenity in the Finistère bocage.
Architecture
The layout of Saint-Pierre de Quimerch church is typical of 16th-century Breton religious architecture: a nave flanked by two aisles, a transept marking the crossing, and a rectangular apse - a shape typical of the region and different from the polygonal or semi-circular apse of the Continental Gothic period. This sobriety of plan is offset by the richness of the sculpted details and the assertive verticality of the bell tower. The bell tower is the centrepiece of the exterior composition. Its high spire, with an openwork lower section, is the result of particularly meticulous carving, using Breton granite - a demanding but remarkably durable material - with an almost surprising lightness. This type of openwork spire, found in several bell towers in Finistère, is as much for aesthetic effect as to resist the prevailing winds of the Armorican peninsula. The southern porch, now transferred to the cemetery, was a major ornamental element: its original presence on the southern flank of the building gave it a lateral façade of great plastic richness. The calvary in the enclosure belongs to a rare type known as the "single shaft" type: a single central pillar supports, by means of a system of radiating corbels, the crosses of the two thieves and the statues of the Virgin and Saint John. This sculptural arrangement, which is more economical than the large platform calvaries in Pleyben or Guimiliau, nonetheless exudes remarkable vertical tension and expressiveness. The ruins of the ossuary, in dressed granite, complete an enclosure where each stone bears the memory of a Breton community turned towards its dead as much as towards its saints.
Related Figures
Saint Pierre, apôtre et saint patron de l'église, dont le culte est à l'origine de la fondation de la paroisseLes maîtres tailleurs de pierre bretons du XVIe siècle, artisans anonymes de la flèche ajourée et du calvaireLes recteurs successifs de la paroisse de Quimerch, acteurs de la construction et de l'entretien de l'édifice au fil des sièclesLes paroissiens de Quimerch du XVIe siècle, donateurs et bâtisseurs collectifs de l'enclos paroissialLes architectes des Monuments Historiques intervenus lors des campagnes de restauration postérieures au classement de 1932
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Eglise Saint-Pierre de Quimerch located?
Eglise Saint-Pierre de Quimerch is located in Pont-de-Buis-lès-Quimerch, Département 29 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Eglise Saint-Pierre de Quimerch built?
Eglise Saint-Pierre de Quimerch dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Eglise Saint-Pierre de Quimerch open to visitors?
Eglise Saint-Pierre de Quimerch is currently closed to visitors.
