Fontaine Notre-Dame-des-Vertus
MonumentHidden Treasure
Fontaine Notre-Dame-des-Vertus, located in Berric (Département 56), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Berric, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.6447, -2.5156
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00091033
Nestling in the Breton bocage, this 17th-century granite devotional fountain features a semi-circular vault and a classical décor of rare elegance for a Breton chapel-fountain.
History
In the heart of the commune of Berric, in the deep Morbihan, the Fontaine Notre-Dame-des-Vertus is one of those discreet jewels that Brittany knows how to hide between hedges and sunken lanes. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1964, it bears witness to a lively Marian devotion that has endured down the centuries without ever dying out, finding in granite stone the sober, solemn expression befitting the Breton genius. What strikes you at first glance is the architectural rigour of the whole. Far from the unbridled fantasy of some votive fountains, the Berric fountain has a classical, almost austere layout: Doric pilasters, regular entablature, axial niche. This application of the rules of learned architecture to a rural building shows a definite ambition, perhaps the initiative of a local lord or a prosperous parish anxious to offer the Virgin a setting worthy of her heavenly rank. The visit is intimate and contemplative. You approach the fountain along a frequently shaded path, your feet in the rich Morbihan grass. The water, which has been flowing here since time immemorial, lends the place an atmosphere of natural contemplation that the centuries have not diminished. Pilgrims of yesteryear came here to seek healing; today's visitors find a precious silence and the satisfaction of having discovered a monument that the crowds still ignore. The surrounding countryside enhances the charm of the place. The Morbihan bocage envelops the fountain in a mantle of greenery, making each visit as much a walk as a heritage discovery. The photographs taken against the light, when the morning light filters through the branches and gilds the grey granite, are among the most beautiful you can take back from this region.
Architecture
The Fontaine Notre-Dame-des-Vertus is of the Breton fountain-chapel type, an open-air aedicule combining a sacred spring and an architectural setting with a religious function. Built entirely of local granite, it takes the form of a small building, open on the front, covered by a semi-circular vault with two scrolls - an arrangement that accentuates the visual depth of the arcade and is reminiscent of the portals of larger sacred buildings. The ridge is crowned by two granite crosses, which indicate the religious vocation of the monument from afar. The façade rests on two pedestals adorned with Doric pilasters of deliberately squat proportions, complete with their regulation bases and capitals. This choice of the Doric order - the most sober and masculine of the ancient orders, according to the treatises - lends the whole an architectural gravity in keeping with the votive function of the site. Inside, the back wall is carefully composed: an axial niche, designed to house a statue of the Virgin Mary, is framed by two pilasters supporting a full entablature, all resting on a moulded bracket that acts as a predella. This tripartite arrangement in height - console, pilasters, entablature - constitutes a veritable miniaturised stone altarpiece, transposing into a monumental register the decorative vocabulary of the interior altars of the period. The altarpiece probably measures just a few metres on each side, a modest size but enough to accommodate pilgrims meditating before the spring. The quality of the stonework, visible in the treatment of the capitals and mouldings, sets this building apart from the more rustic votive fountains often found in the Breton bocage.
Related Figures
Curés successifs de la paroisse de Berric (XVIIe-XXe siècle), gardiens du pèlerinage et de l'entretien de la fontaineSeigneurs locaux de Berric (fin XVIIe siècle), probables commanditaires de l'édifice classiqueTailleur de pierre morbihannais anonyme (vers 1680-1700), auteur du décor dorique et de la voûte à deux rouleauxInspecteurs des Monuments Historiques (1964), artisans du classement protecteur de la fontaine
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Fontaine Notre-Dame-des-Vertus located?
Fontaine Notre-Dame-des-Vertus is located in Berric, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Fontaine Notre-Dame-des-Vertus built?
Fontaine Notre-Dame-des-Vertus dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Fontaine Notre-Dame-des-Vertus open to visitors?
Fontaine Notre-Dame-des-Vertus is currently closed to visitors.