I come to my nice Rennes. This time one of the nicest monument , and of course the City is in Îlle et Vilaine dept 35,of my lovely Bretagne, I have come back to this beautiful City after a long hiatus and it was wonderful, Bear with me as the next posts will be on this beautiful City, Let me tell you a bit more on the Church Notre Dame en Saint Melaine of Rennes, part II !!! Hope you enjoy it as I.
The Church Notre-Dame-en-Saint-Melaine is located in the extension of Rue Saint-Melaine in the center of the medieval town. It is bordered on its southern façade by the western end of the Thabor Park (see post). The sanctuary is dedicated to Saint Melaine, traditionally considered as the first bishop of Rennes, who died here in 6C. He is buried on the hill of the cemetery in Rennes, where the abbey church of Saint Melaine was built. The church presents itself today as a composite building in Romanesque and Gothic style, behind a classical and neoclassical tower-steeple. Its layout is in the form of a Latin cross.
In the first half of the 13C, the square of the transept was covered with a vault of warheads whose departure is still visible. The church was revised /renovated in the 14-17C and 19C. The large bay of the south transept is adorned with a window of eight meters in height and four meters in width evoking the Translation of the relics from the remains of the Holy Bishop Melaine arriving at the gates of the city of Rennes by the Vilaine river while the laity and clerics prostrate himself in its passage. A Way of the Cross painted in fourteen paintings made in a classical style, inspired by the 17C French or Italian. A great-organ Claus from 1879. The Organ Cavaillon-Coll, former organ of the chapel of the Carmelites delivered in 1874. Transfer of the Church of Saint Aubin to the Abbey and restoration in 2011.
The Church Notre Dame en Saint Melaine, where 800 years of history are waiting for you. On this hill of the Thabor archeology and history tell us that the patron Saint of the diocese of Rennes, Saint Melaine, was buried around the year 531, in a wooden church that has disappeared. We can therefore consider that the first Christians in the city were baptized in this very place. The garden you were able to visit, next to the church, bears the name of the Thabor park,(see post) in reference to the Mont of the same name located in Israel where, 2000 years ago, Jesus Christ showed his disciples his deity ,
In 1432 , the bell tower is rebuilt on the Romanesque bases. In the southern cross, a wall painting representing the baptism of Christ dates from the 15C. The inner nave of this Latin cross church makes a stripped and harmonious atmosphere that seizes you from the entrance. From this period, the two transept was kept, the imposing architectural massif of the square of the transept with its glory arc and the semicircular entrance gate, under the tower.
In 1676 the facade of the bell tower was redone in limestone , which also did in 1683 a new cloister. The tower precedes a right bedside nave, flanked by two collaterals and a transept. On the 17C, the church has a classic style facade with two orders of superimposed colonnades and, in 1672, reconstructed the cloister which still keeps eight very beautiful arcades. In the 19C, due to the reconstruction work of the Cathédrale Saint-Pierre (see post), the Church Notre Dame en Saint-Melaine was cathedral until 1844. In 1844, Saint-Melaine became a parish church under the term of “Notre-Dame-en -Saint-Melaine ” Build in 1855 the part of the tower and the colossal statue of Marie, in golden lead, 6.30 meters high which dominates the city. The abbey home remained bishopric then archbishopric until the separation of the church and the state in 1905. In the northern cross, in 1942 a large fresco representing a miracle of Saint Melaine: the resurrection of a child from the village of Sené in Morbihan (56). Around 1960 was made the whole decoration of the bedside: the glass roof, evokes Pentecost. The large tapestry, below, on a box of the same, evoking the Eucharist. The large organ, of romantic tones, built in 1879 was restored in 1984. The organ buffet is the work of the Rennais sculptor Eugène Belanger. The Original Cross, not carved as it was then common, is made up of fourteen canvases inspired by the 17C French or Italian.
The Rennes tourist office on the Church Notre Dame en Saint Melaine : https://www.tourisme-rennes.com/fr/organiser-mon-sejour/que-faire-a-rennes/eglise-notre-dame-en-saint-melaine/
The Catholic Dioscese of Rennes on Saint Melaine
: https://rennes.catholique.fr/structure/
There you go folks ,another jewel in my wonderful capital city of Rennes. The walks are worth it with plenty of lovely areas, Again, hope you enjoy the post on the Church Notre Dame en Saint Melaine, part II !!! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 