The Church Saint Saturnin of Sarzeau, part III !!!

Posted in Bretagne, France

I was again in my road warrior mode in my beautiful Morbihan and stop again by nice Sarzeau, It brings back many memorable travel times with the family as we came here for the market ,eat and see wonderful monuments, I have several posts on the town but for now again let me tell you a bit more on the Church Saint Saturnin of Sarzeau, part III !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.

Sarzeau ch Saint Saturnin front jul23

Of course, this is in the nice Rhuys peninsula of my beautiful Morbihan dept 56 of my lovely Bretagne and of course in my belle France.  The growing demography of Sarzeau and its central position on the Rhuys peninsula explain, from the Middle Ages, its importance for the clergy. Thus in the 10C Sarzeau became the seat of the parish of Rhuys and at the beginning of the following century, a large Romanesque church began to emerge. Its name Saint-Saturnin pays homage to the first bishop of Toulouse, evangelizer of Gaul who died as a martyr in the year 250.

Sarzeau ch Saint Saturnin nave to altar jul23

Sarzeau ch Saint Saturnin altar scene last supper jul23

In the 16C, the Saint Saturnin Church began to decay and the faithful began to desert it, then the roof collapsed in 1648. In 1670, construction began of a vast neo-style building. classic with a square tower without a spire. In 1883, an interesting restructuring took place by adding two rows of columns which consolidated the building while offering a superb nave with two low sides. It was at this time that the stained glass window representing Joan of Arc was added with her most faithful lieutenant, the Constable of Richemont, (Arthur III duke of Brittany) a native of the city and whose name the church square is named, One modern stained glass windows recall, one, the arrival of the monk Saint Gildas in Rhuys.

Sarzeau ch Saint Saturnin chapel left jul23

Sarzeau ch Saint Saturnin chapel right jul23

The steeple of the roof showing signs of weakness was dismantled in May 1989, but it was not until October 30, 2018 that it was replaced after a long restructuring of the frame. Built identically in a 30-year-old oak tree, 500 hours of work were needed to reproduce this element weighing 5.7 tons and measuring 9.50 meters in height. On the other hand, the bell has become electric…

Sarzeau ch Saint Saturnin back jube jul23

In 1937, the Church of Saint Saturnin owned the 7 official copies of the “Seven Sacraments” made by Nicolas Poussin between 1636 and 1642, one of the originals of which sold in 2010 for 22 million euros. The others are in American and English museums. An “official copy” was validated by Nicolas Poussin in his school and retouched or signed by him…. In 1952 it was found that there were only three left. And nowadays there is only “The Eucharist” and “The Order”…The lateral altars are adorned with two beautiful stone altarpieces from the beginning of the 18C. One is dated from 1707 and represents the Intercession of the Virgin; the other is the Adoration of the Sacred Heart. The Souls of Purgatory, in bas-relief, date from 1707. The painting depicting the baptism of Christ dates from 1936.

Sarzeau ch Saint Saturnin treasury jul23

The Gulf of Morbihan tourist board on Sarzeau: https://www.golfedumorbihan.bzh/explorer-vannes/decouvrir-vannes/golfe-morbihan/presquile-rhuys/sarzeau/

The city of Sarzeau on getting the new bells for the Church of St Saturnin: https://www.sarzeau.fr/sarzeau-a-retrouve-son-clocheton/

There you go folks, another nice small gem in a nice quant pretty town of the Rhuys peninsula of the Morbihan. The Church of St Saturnin is small but worth the detour for the magic of its city center in Sarzeau. Again, hope you enjoy the post on the Church Saint Saturnin of Sarzeau, part III !!!  as I.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!

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Published by pedmar10

I am a lover of travels to Europe , Americas , Africa and Asia as well ,who like to share my experiences of the last 53 years with the world, visiting so far 81 countries; living in 6, working in 5, and Citizen of 4, speaking fluently 4 languages. I can deal with sports especially football/soccer and love music, arts, wine collector/drinker, and go out to restaurants, and just visit the world. My background comes all the way from Candelaria and Pajara in Tenerife, Spain where my grandparents came from ;not knowing each other then, to Punta Brava, west of Havana, Cuba. There , my parents born in Cuba met and later on I was born there too. 100% guanche (annexed Tenerife to Spain on April 10 ,1496). I left Cuba as many have to Madrid, Spain where I lived for 4 years. Then, move to Perth Amboy ,New Jersey USA (living there 13 yrs) ; where I completed high school, became a US Citizen, learned to drive a car, and learned English. Afterward, went to the university in Florida, ERAU, and upon graduation decided to moved there to Ormond by the Sea, near Daytona Beach, finally moving North Miami, then Hialeah, then another moved to Silver Lakes division in Miramar, Broward county, Florida; in Florida I lived a total of 18 years. Finally , moved to France in 2003 ,Versailles call me for its royalty, and working in Paris was great. It was time to seek frontiers again and moved to Brech near Auray, Morbihan in Brittany , and later move to not too far Pluvigner. Total so far in France has been 20 years, and counting. Moving average a home every 5.5 years hopefully this will be my last. Cheers All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the written permission of the copyright holder, me. No part of this work may be modified, without the written permission of the holder, me.No part of this work may be exposed to public view in any form or by any means, without identifying the holder as the author, and with the before mentioned permission.

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