Eglise Sainte-Nonna
ChurchHidden Treasure
Eglise Sainte-Nonna, located in Logonna-Daoulas (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
- Logonna-Daoulas, Département 29, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.3200, -4.2994
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00090100
In the heart of Finistère, the church of Sainte-Nonna in Logonna-Daoulas, with its flamboyant windows and slender bracketed spire, is a vibrant testimony to the Breton faith of the 16th and 17th centuries.
History
Nestling in the market town of Logonna-Daoulas, at the gateway to the Plougastel peninsula and just a stone's throw from the Aulne estuary, the church of Sainte-Nonna is one of the discreet jewels of Finistère's religious heritage. Dedicated to Saint Nonna, the legendary mother of Saint David of Wales, it embodies the Celtic spirituality that runs deep in Armorican Brittany. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1935, it deserves much more than a furtive glance from the road: it's an invitation to an intimate encounter with several centuries of Breton sacred art. What immediately sets Sainte-Nonna apart is the coherence of its external elevation, combining granite sobriety with late Gothic ornamentation. The flamboyantly-narrowed windows capture the Atlantic light with particular grace, casting shifting shadows on the grey granite walls. The two-storey openwork bell tower, crowned by a long hooked spire, structures the landscape of the village and remains visible from the surrounding hills, a vertical punctuation mark in an area dominated by sea horizons. The interior reveals a cruciform plan of great complexity: the cylindrical piers, tiers-point arches and subtly subdivided transept arms create a surprising visual flow for a village church. The three-sided chevet, crowned with three lanterns, bathes the choir in soft, diffused light, ideal for meditation and architectural contemplation. A visit to Sainte-Nonna is a natural way to explore the Daoulas region, between the Romanesque abbey and the Elorn countryside. It's sure to delight both enthusiasts of Breton Gothic architecture and walkers in search of authenticity away from the crowded tourist circuits.
Architecture
The church of Sainte-Nonna has a carefully organised Latin cross floor plan: a two-bay nave precedes a transept, each arm of which is divided into two by an archway perpendicular to the main axis, creating an interior space that is more complex than it first appears. The nave's arcades, with their characteristic flamboyant Gothic tiers-point, fall directly onto cylindrical piers, without intermediate imposts or capitals - an elegant constructional choice that gives the space lightness and fluidity. The choir, which is barely deeper than the transept, ends in a three-sided chevet with three gables and three lanterns, an arrangement that multiplies the light sources and creates a particularly luminous eastern end. The windows, adorned with flamboyant tracery finely chiselled into the local granite, are the building's main feature. This late style, which remained in Brittany until the mid-seventeenth century, testifies to the vitality of a regional tradition that was resistant to fashions from Italy and the Loire Valley. The porch, dated 1618, is typical of Breton porches of the period: ribbed vaulting, niches with statuettes and engraved inscriptions. The two-storey, openwork bell tower, completed in 1667, is crowned by a slender, bracketed spire that stands out against the Breton sky and the horizons of the neighbouring estuary. The entire building is made of granite, the king of Finistère materials, giving the edifice its characteristic grey-blue hue and robustness in the face of the Atlantic winds.
Related Figures
Sainte Nonne (Ve-VIe siècle) — sainte celtique fondatrice et patronne de l'église, mère de saint David de GallesSaint David de Galles (Ve-VIe siècle) — fils de sainte Nonne, patron du Pays de Galles, dont le culte est indissociable de celui de sa mère en BretagneFabrique paroissiale de Logonna (XVIIe siècle) — commanditaire du porche (1618) et des travaux du clocher (1667)Inspecteurs des Monuments Historiques (1935) — auteurs du dossier ayant conduit à l'inscription officielle de l'édifice
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Eglise Sainte-Nonna located?
Eglise Sainte-Nonna is located in Logonna-Daoulas, Département 29 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Eglise Sainte-Nonna built?
Eglise Sainte-Nonna dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Eglise Sainte-Nonna open to visitors?
Eglise Sainte-Nonna is currently closed to visitors.