The church, enclos paroissal, and calvary of Guimiliau, part II !!!

Posted in Bretagne, France

This way country that we have road warrior trips all over and passing by the picturesque town of Guimiliau we were impressed by the enclosure that is something to come to see, a must. The town of Guimiliau is located in the Finistère department 29, in my lovely Bretagne, and my belle France. I found again pictures in my cd rom vault that should be in my blog for you and me, It will allow me to bring back memories of this wonderful visit, Therefore, let me tell you again on the church, enclos paroissal and calvary of Guimiliau, part II !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.

The town of Guimiliau is a veritable museum. One of the most remarkable parish enclosures, with its Calvary. This beautiful architectural ensemble built in the 16–17C is called “parish enclosure” because it groups together, as if in a swarm: triumphal arch, bell tower, ossuary, large porch, church (with baptistery, organ gallery, pulpit, altarpieces), sacristy, funeral chapel and cemetery. The Parish Enclosure of Guimiliau is one of the 7 monumental calvaries of Brittany.

The Church Saint Miliau, dedicated to Saint Miliau, blends Flamboyant and Renaissance styles. It has two naves and five side chapels with Flamboyant windows. The bell tower, with its pointed Gothic spire, is in the Beaumanoir style and dates from the 16C, dating back to a construction prior to the current church. Access to the platform is via a spiral staircase housed in the round turret attached to the spire. In the corner of the side pocket, a small charnel house supported by six columns and decorated with bas-reliefs, leans back, containing skulls enclosed in boxes.

The splendour derives above all from the great calvary from 1581-1588, including some 200 characters pertaining to the life of Christ, from the Annunciation to the Resurrection. Of all its contemporaries, it is definitely the most theatrical : here the Passion is a drama which plays out in the costumes of the time, as in the mystery plays the population took part in at the end of the 16C. The Calvary, in blue granite surmounted by a Cross of Jesus and the two thieves, the barrel bearing the Cross having as often in armor the appearance of a delimbed tree trunk, called cross plague; the rest of the Calvary represents in bas-relief the various episodes of the Life of Christ, including the Birth of Christ, the Adoration of the Magi, the Carrying of the Cross, the Entombment, the Resurrection, etc. as well as Catel Collet thrown into hell by the devils for stealing a host and giving it to the devil, and a statue of Saint Miliau. The 80 characters represented are decked out in 16C costumes, contemporary with the date of construction of the Calvary, but in a style that seems more Spanish than French, which would be explained by the presence of Spaniards in Brittany at the time due to the League Wars. The Calvary of Guimiliau is the most populated of all ! Indeed beautiful !!

The town of Guimiliau and its heritage : https://guimiliau.fr/category/decouvrez-guimiliau/

The official 7 Calvaries of Bretagne on Guimiliau : http://www.7calvaires.fr/en/guimiliau/

The Parish Close Interpretation Centre of the Calvaries and enclosures of Bretagne on Guimiliau : https://www.ciap-enclos.fr/en/enclos/guimiliau/

There you go folks, another dandy in my lovely Bretagne. There is loads of beautiful things to see here, and I am just starting !!! Again, hope you enjoy the church, enclos paroissal, and calvary of Guimiliau, part II !!! 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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