Eglise Saint-Sauveur
ChurchHidden Treasure
Eglise Saint-Sauveur, located in Dinan (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
- Dinan, Département 22, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.4536, -2.0415
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00089077
Joyau roman et gothique flamboyant au cœur de Dinan, l'église Saint-Sauveur abrite le cœur légendaire de Bertrand Du Guesclin et déploie une façade occidentale parmi les plus originales de Bretagne.
History
Standing on a hill in Dinan, Saint-Sauveur church is one of those rare buildings that condense several centuries of religious architecture into a single space. Its western façade, a veritable stone manifesto, juxtaposes the sobriety of Breton Romanesque with the exuberance of Flamboyant Gothic in a dialogue that never ceases to amaze even the most discerning visitors. Far from being a monolithic construction, the church is the result of building campaigns stretching from the twelfth to the sixteenth century, each one leaving its signature visible in the local cut stone. Inside, the visitor's experience is both contemplative and scholarly. The Romanesque nave, with its generous proportions and round arches, contrasts with the Gothic side chapels, whose ribbed vaults soar with lightness. Lovers of medieval sculpture will be particularly struck by the historiated capitals in the north aisle, where the iconographic conventions of Breton Romanesque can still be seen. The light, filtered through soberly coloured stained glass windows, bathes the whole place in an atmosphere conducive to contemplation. But the appeal of Saint-Sauveur goes beyond the purely aesthetic. The church contains a relic of considerable symbolic significance: the heart of Bertrand Du Guesclin, Constable of France, which the people of Dinan insisted on keeping in their town even though he was buried in Saint-Denis. This detail turns the visit into a truly patriotic and medieval pilgrimage, reminding us that Dinan was the spiritual home of the most famous Breton knight of the 14th century. The immediate setting enhances the experience: the church is part of Dinan's remarkably well-preserved medieval fabric, just a stone's throw from the ramparts and half-timbered houses of the Rue du Jerzual. Visitors leaving Saint-Sauveur find themselves immersed in a town whose atmosphere seems to have come to a standstill in the 15th century, making this visit a complete change of scenery in the heart of inland Brittany.
Architecture
The lower level is Romanesque and displays the restraint characteristic of 12th-century Breton architecture - a round-arched portal with soberly decorated voussoirs, flat buttresses and carefully cut local granite. The upper storey, added in the 15th century, provides a deliberate contrast with a flamboyant Gothic composition featuring a wealth of ornamentation that is rare in the region: bracketed gables, slender pinnacles, a large window with a network of spandrels and bellows framed by sculpted brackets. This superimposition of styles, far from detracting from the coherence of the whole, gives the façade a unique chronological legibility. The interior plan, a basilica with nave and aisles, reveals several superimposed construction phases. The main nave retains its large Romanesque semi-circular arches supported by cylindrical pillars with capitals sculpted with foliage and palmettes. The later north ambulatory features pointed arches and Gothic ribbed vaults, while the side radiating chapels, built in the 15th and 16th centuries, bear witness to the growing mastery of rib vaulting techniques. The flat chevet, typically Breton, closes off the building to the east and features large Gothic windows that generously illuminate the choir. The dominant materials - grey granite and slate schist for the roof - firmly anchor the building in the Armorican architectural tradition.
Related Figures
Riwallon le Roux — seigneur dinanais, fondateur légendaire de l'église au retour des croisades (vers 1120-1130)Bertrand Du Guesclin — connétable de France, dont le cœur est conservé dans l'église depuis 1380Olivier de Clisson — compagnon d'armes de Du Guesclin, lié à la ville de Dinan et à sa seigneurieProsper Mérimée — inspecteur général des monuments historiques, artisan du classement de 1862Duchesse Anne de Bretagne — souveraine dont le règne correspond aux grandes campagnes gothiques dans les édifices bretons
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Eglise Saint-Sauveur located?
Eglise Saint-Sauveur is located in Dinan, Département 22 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Eglise Saint-Sauveur built?
Eglise Saint-Sauveur dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Eglise Saint-Sauveur open to visitors?
Eglise Saint-Sauveur is currently closed to visitors.
