Place de l'Eglise
MonumentHidden Treasure
Place de l'Eglise, located in Locronan (Département 29), 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
- Locronan, Département 29, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.0984, -4.2084
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00090079
Joyau médiéval breton préservé à l'identique, la place de l'Église de Locronan s'impose comme l'un des ensembles architecturaux en granit les plus cohérents et les plus émouvants de toute la Bretagne.
History
In the heart of Finistère, Locronan's Place de l'Église is a rare phenomenon in the French heritage landscape: a medieval and Renaissance urban space that has remained virtually intact since the 16th century, with no significant additions or alterations over the centuries. Paved with large slabs of bluish granite, and surrounded by corbelled houses and the dwellings of merchants who grew rich from the sailcloth trade, the square exudes a timeless atmosphere that captivates visitors from the first moment they step into it. What makes this place truly unique is the remarkable homogeneity of its buildings. The facades lining the square form an almost monolithic whole, all built from the same local granite in shades of grey-blue, and all laid out according to the same Breton Renaissance principles: gables with crossettes, mullioned windows, basket-arched doors. No overhead cables or modern signs break the illusion of a journey through time. It was this integrity that led Roman Polanski's teams to shoot several scenes from Tess here in 1979. The square is dominated by the imposing church of Saint-Ronan and the Pénity chapel, which together form the spiritual heart of the town. The church, built in the 15th century in an austere Breton Gothic style, projects its slender steeple above the slate roofs, creating a powerful visual axis that can be seen from every corner of the square. The Renaissance well at its centre punctuates the space like a discreet jewel. The visitor experience is one of total immersion. Early in the morning, before the influx of summer visitors, the Atlantic mist sometimes shrouds the granite façades in a veil of mystery that reinforces the feeling of stepping back in time. The craftsmen and art galleries that occupy the ground floors of the old merchants' houses continue a living tradition of excellent craftsmanship that dates back to the town's prosperous days as a cloth-maker.
Architecture
Locronan's Place de l'Église is an exceptional example of organic Breton town planning from the 15th to 17th centuries, in which the consistency of the material - bluish granite quarried locally - creates a visual unity that is not contradicted by any of the surrounding facades. The residences lining the square are typical of Breton Renaissance architecture: gables with crossettes and pinnacles, window frames with moulded mullions and transoms, basket-arched doors, and spiral staircases housed in corner turrets for the most opulent. The paving of the square, made up of large irregular granite paving stones that are slightly curved to allow rainwater to run off, adds to the authenticity of the whole. The central well, with its sculpted granite coping, is one of the only items of furniture in the square, but symbolically occupies the geometric centre, underlining the function of this space as a community gathering point. The church of Saint-Ronan, which closes off the square to the north, imposes its flamboyant Breton Gothic silhouette with its spire of stone reaching almost twenty-seven metres. The southern porch, richly sculpted with hagiographic scenes and plant motifs, is one of the finest examples of Gothic statuary in Finistère. The adjoining Pénity chapel introduces a note of transition towards the Renaissance in the treatment of its openings, creating a subtle stylistic dialogue within an architecturally homogenous ensemble.
Related Figures
Saint Ronan — moine irlandais évangélisateur du Ve siècle, fondateur légendaire du site et patron de la citéDucs de Bretagne — mécènes principaux de la construction de l'église Saint-Ronan aux XVe-XVIe sièclesRoman Polanski — cinéaste ayant utilisé la place comme décor naturel pour le film Tess (1979)Gustave Flaubert — voyageur en Bretagne qui mentionne Locronan dans ses carnets de voyage de 1847Anne de Bretagne — duchesse dont le règne correspond à l'apogée de la prospérité toilière et du mécénat architectural locronanais
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Place de l'Eglise located?
Place de l'Eglise is located in Locronan, Département 29 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Place de l'Eglise built?
Place de l'Eglise dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Place de l'Eglise open to visitors?
Place de l'Eglise is currently closed to visitors.
