The Cathédrale Saint Pierre de Rennes, part III !!!

Posted in Bretagne, Europe, France

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 wonderful City, I will detail the organ and sacristy on this post ok, Let me tell you about the Cathédrale Saint Pierre de Rennes, part III !!! Hope you enjoy it as I.

Besides the front, the façade has five coats of arms of tufa , showing from top to bottom, from right to left we have that of the Beaumanoir, that of Charles Albert of d’Ailly, 3rd Duke of Chaulnes, governor of Brittany, that of Jean-Baptiste de Beaumanoir de Lavardin, Bishop of Rennes from 1676 to 1711. that of Henri de La Mothe-Houdancourt, Bishop of Rennes from 1642 to 1662.  And that of Duke Charles de la Porte. To underline the strength and solidity of the new ensemble as opposed to the fragility of the previous construction, the architects have endowed the facade with 22 granite columns.  The pediment is to the arms of Louis XIV. Sculpted in the tuffeau, the bas-relief includes, in its center, a circular badge with the arms of France, wearing a royal crown. The necklaces of the Order of Saint-Michel and the Order of the Holy Spirit surround the crest. Above, the figure of the sun with the motto of Louis XIV: Nec pluribus imper. On the pediment: the keys to Saint Peter.These royal badges were not hammered during the French revolution ! Maybe too high up. My boys and Rex ahead !

Rennes Cat Saint Pierre belltower arriv oct24

The towers of the Cathédrale Saint Pierre house a ringing of five bells. The bourdon, named Godefroy, is housed in the North tower and weighs about 7 900 kg. Its beating of 240 kg was changed on December 12, 2011. The other four bells, located in the South Tower, bear the names of Mary, Pierre, Amand and Melaine. They weigh 3 950 kg, 1 467 kg, 1 155 kg and 475 kg. Pierre is the only preserved bell of 1843, which had three sound vases. The bourdon, named after the first Cardinal-Archbishop of Rennes, Mgr. Brossay-Saint-Marc, is the biggest hidden bell in Brittany. The names of its sisters evoke the holy patron of the cathedral, Peter, that of the Archdiocese of Rennes, Dol and Saint-Malo, Melaine, and his predecessor on the Episcopal throne, Amand.

The almost all of the treasure of the Cathédrale Saint Pierre comes from purchases or donations of faithful to the very end of the 18C and the end of the 19C. It is full of works of art, almost all dated from the 19C. As such, the visitor can admire an interesting panorama of French religious painting in a century marked by a renewed devotion after the French revolution. Since 2019, part of the treasure has been presented to visitors. The parts of liturgy, rubbed shoulders with a magnificent Antwerp altarpiece dated 1530 which deserves the glance. You can see on it the Virgin of the Dormition surrounded by the Apostles, the play which seems to be the oldest is an “kiss of peace” representing Christ crucified between the Virgin and Saint John, dated the second half of the 16C, Assumption and the tree of Jesse from around 1520. The proud and amused face of the woman who keeps the child Jesus in circumcision makes her look like a porcelain doll. That of Saint John carrying a chalice, in the Dormition, shows a great mastery at the top of the tree, the Virgin sits on a crescent moon in reference to the description of the woman in the apocalypse. A set of circumcision with the Child Jesus , run by high priest, is surrounded by eight sumptuously shared women. The presentation at the temple. The Nativity, which sadly some characters of this compartment were stolen in 1975. The marriage of Anne and Joachim. Located in the center of the second level of the altarpiece, the two pairs of prophets supervised a sleeping jessé who has disappeared.

Rennes Cat Saint Pierre treasury 1 oct24

Rennes Cat Saint Pierre treasury retable Assomption et Arbre de Jesse 1520 oct24

Rennes Cat Saint Pierre treasury retable closer oct24

The Grand organs of the Cathédrale St Pierre date from 1874 and is housed in a buffet, rebuilt in 1970 in a neo-classical style. A dorsal is then added, the pipes finding place in a buffet. Today, the main organs of the Cathedral constitute the most important instrument of the Department 35 of Ille-et-Vilaine.  The Choir organ, it is housed in a neo-classical oak buffet and occupies the central section of the ambulatory , at the bottom of the apse of the Cathedral. Carried by a high base, partially in corbelled, its piping is masked by false pipes in painted and gilded wood. Grouped by seven, in two platforms framed by pilasters summoned by Corinthian capitals for the lateral facades, these canons are numbered twenty-nine for the main façade, two plates-faces of seven false pipes framing a central section of fifteen. Dating back to 1867, the instrument will only be installed current 1869.

Rennes Cat Saint Pierre organ back wall oct24

Rennes Cat Saint Pierre organ buffet back oct24

The official Cathédrale Sainte Pierre of Rennes:  https://cathedrale-rennes.fr/

The Rennes tourist office on the Cathedral:  https://www.tourisme-rennes.com/decouvrir-rennes/histoire/cathedrale-saint-pierre/

The Îlle et Vilaine dept 35 tourist office on the Cathedral:  https://www.ille-et-vilaine-tourisme.bzh/a-voir-a-faire/visites-et-patrimoine/la-cathedrale-saint-pierre-rennes-fr-2725595/

The Bretagne region tourist office on Rennes: https://www.brittanytourism.com/destinations/the-10-destinations/rennes-and-brittanys-historic-gateways/

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 Cathédrale Saint Pierre de Rennes, 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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