Els Slots

The Netherlands - 12-Mar-25 -

Brittany was the only region in mainland France where I had not been before, but the upcoming nomination of Carnac gave me a good reason to go. Helped by a cheap and direct flight from Djerba to Nantes, I combined it into a great Tunisian-French midweek trip comprising 1 new WHS and 2 strong TWHS.

I can’t say that Brittany felt much different from Northern France in general, although the bilingual signage gives it an exotic twist.  

On my second day there, I drove to the department of Finistère (one of the four Breton departments) as that is where these “Parish closes” can be found (“Enclos paroissiaux” doesn’t translate well into English). The amount of driving here should not be underestimated: Brittany is about the size of Belgium and Luxembourg combined. I was a bit hindered by the limited mileage of my rental car – some fine print that I had overlooked when booking (500km across 2 days is not enough). In the end, I created a route that would keep my additional costs within reason ánd that included at least two of the most recommended churches, ones that would be good candidates to make the final cut whenever this site gets nominated. 

I made a first stop at a minor one though, the Saint-Pierre Church in Pleyber-Christ. The parish closes were created according to a strict model, and an example such as this lets you familiarize yourself with the parts (surrounding wall, arched gateway, ossuary, calvary and church with spire). The enclosure still holds a central position in the center of the small town of Pleyber-Christ: as with all others in this serial proposal, the church still is the parish church and thus well-kept. Other parts have been demolished or rebuilt, such as the arched gateway that has been replaced with a World War I memorial.

The Notre-Dame et Saint-Thégonnec Church in Saint-Thégonnec is generally considered the highlight among the parish closes. The town of Saint-Thégonnec nowadays has only 2700 inhabitants, but this is a sizeable and exuberant structure, funded in the 17th century by what was the region’s wealthiest community. In particular, its ossuary and ensemble inside the courtyard (photo lower right) and the calvary (a sculpture in front of the church, top photo) are wonderful.

About 20 minutes away lies the Saint-Suliau Church of Sizun. This is also a large and prominent one. It stood out for me for two reasons: the outer wall of the ossuary, decorated with statues of the Apostles,  and the interior of the church. I had been inside the two other churches as well, but found them only so-so as they seem like “normal”, small Roman-Catholic churches. The one in Sizun, however, is rich in wooden sculptures in a colourful, almost naïve style (photo lower left).

Overall, my verdict of this Tentative Site is positive – yes, it’s yet another Christian religious site, but very distinct from your average Cathedral. The parish closes were funded by locals that got prosperous from the linen industry and are great examples of vernacular architecture since only regional artists were employed. This also would be such an easy site to nominate as everything already seems to be there: they’re all protected monuments, kept in good shape by the parishes, and 23 of them are united in some association (at least they share the same information panels). The churches I visited are free and open to enter during the day, only the ossuaries have a more limited schedule (geared to the tourist season). All also have ample, free parking nearby.

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Aitia

France - 09-Feb-25 -

The parish enclosures of Finistère were added very recently to the French indicative list, and this nomination file should be put forward soon by France (perhaps 2029?). It was entrusted to a former French Minister of Culture, residing in Brittany, who contributed to the successful inscription of the city of Nice in 2021.
One might wonder why France chose a bid focused once again on Christian architecture. In fact, this choice is more judicious than it seems.

First, these parish churches are very original. Modest in size but very decorated, they are made up of several elements: a decorated monumental porch, a surrounding wall, with a monumental entrance and an "échalier" (to prevent animals from accessing this sacred space), a sculpted calvary, and an ossuary.

These buildings provide a striking testimony of the Breton culture of death. To see how fascinated the Bretons were by this, I recommend the collection of stories of "La légende de la mort" by Anatole Le Braz: the stories about "Ankou" (personification of Death) are among the most fascinating.

Finally, these churches were not financed by the local nobility, but by associations of peasants enriched by the cultivation of flax in the 16th and 17th centuries (used for boat sails). At that time, Brittany was one of the richest regions in Europe, and Breton merchants were present in all the ports of Europe. Thanks to this and the invention of printing, this part of Brittany was influenced by architectural styles from France, Italy and Flanders. These influences gave birth to a unique architectural style.

Currently 31 sites are on the tentative list, but the final list should include about 15 sites, the most authentic and complete. Among them, we should find the enclosures of Pleyben, Guimiliau, Lampaul-Guimiliau and St-Thégonnec. The last 3 are very easy to visit since they are located within 10 km. We can notice the rivalry between these parishes, who wanted to have the largest, the highest, or the most decorated enclosure! 
In summary, here is a series of monuments that provides an interesting testimony to this original Breton culture, where Christianity was nourished by folklore and beliefs about death. 
(photo : St-Thégonnec)