And I am on the road again, hoping it stays; and why not go back to some of my favorite areas in my lovely Bretagne! Well this time it was Quimperlé in the wonderful Finistére dept 29 and of course a re visit to the Eglise Abbatiale de Sainte Croix!
I have written before on it so will spare most of the wordings, just some update and newer photos on this remarkable beautiful monument of my belle France.
The one you must and I won’t mine seeing again, it along is worth the trip to Quimperlé is the Abbey Church of the Holy Cross or Eglise Abbatiale de Sainte Croix. It’s a jewel and in splendid conditions. It is here that all started. It is the most prestigious monument of the city of Quimperlé, an abbey founded in 1029 by Saint Gurloës due to a donation by the Count de Cornouaille, Alain Canhiart following a miraculous cure.
His church along with the abbey of Lanleff, are the only church in Brittany to have a circular plan copied as the one in the Saint Sepulcre of Jérusalem. It form a Greek cross, and has equally a form of a clover drawn as in the Saint-Sépulcre of Jérusalem. From the 11C it has been preserved its interior a wonderful museum of works of arts. The choir of monks is a one of the best realisations of Roman art, the crypt from the 11C is still preserved, a entombment of Christ sculpture in about 1500 one of the oldest in Bretagne, notice the head of Jesus is held by Nicodemus a retable from the 16C major work of the Renaissance entered the church in 1541, a Christ en robe(dressed Christ) ,and a pulpit from the 17C are ,also, remarquably there!!! Visitors to the church of renown were the Duke de Chaulnes in 1675 during the revolt of the red caps or bonnets rouges. In 1679 the Janzenian Claude Lancelot teacher of Racine at Port Royal exiled here by Louis XIV until his death in 1695. From 1689 to 1691 Catholic king of England and Scotland James II Stuart exiled in France after his defeat by the orange Protestants. Around 1760 the Duke of Aiguillon commander in chief of Brittany famous for his conflicts with the State and Parliament. And many more.
The Abbey Church of Sainte Croix or Holy Cross was abolished during the French revolution. Its buildings are preserved but reassigned: the abbey church becomes parish, and the conventual buildings are transformed into public buildings: they accommodate the district court and the gendarmerie barracks. The bell tower built at the top of the rotunda by the Maurists weakens it, and the restoration works cannot prevent its collapse on March 21, 1862 at noon. In its fall it destroyed most of the church, of which only the monks’ choir and the crypt below remain intact. The building was rebuilt from 1864. A must to see!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There is so much to see, and we like to cover it all, however, this one is worth visiting again and again me think. And of course , Quimperlé is quite nice I say. Hope you enjoy the tour and new photos.
SPREV an association to save the religious monuments of France, here in French: SPREV on the abbey church of Ste Croix
The tourist office of Quimperlé on things to see in English: Quimperlé tourist office on things to see
And there you go another wonderful stop for a day in our nearby reservoir of things to do and see in pretty Quimperlé , wonderful Finistére, and our lovely Bretagne. And remember not to miss the Abbey Church of the Holy Cross. See you around…..
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 