St-Gildas (Auray)

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Parish Church of Saint-Gildas
Bell tower

The Catholic parish church of Saint-Gildas in Auray , a parish in the Morbihan department in the French region of Brittany , was built in the 17th century on the site of a Benedictine priory . The church is dedicated to St. Gildas , also called Gildas the Wise, a scholar and clergyman of Celtic Christianity . In 1995, the church was added to the list of architectural monuments ( Base Mérimée ) in France as Monument historique .

history

As early as the 12th century, the Benedictine abbey of Saint-Gildas-en-Rhuys established a priory in Auray , the church of which also served as the parish church. In 1620 this church was demolished and in the following years a new church was built in its place, which was consecrated in 1641 by the Bishop of Vannes . The bell tower, completed in 1663, was rebuilt in 1832.

architecture

Exterior construction

The mighty, square bell tower rises to the west of the church and is divided into three floors by cornices . It is crowned by a small octagonal structure with an attached lantern . The two upper floors and the octagon are reinforced by corner pilasters with Doric , Ionic and Corinthian capitals . The vestibule on the ground floor is marked with the year 1636. It is flanked by high Doric columns, and three niches decorated with segmented gables are cut into the wall above the portal.

Another Renaissance portal is on the south side. Columns are arranged on two levels on both sides of the arched portal. Both levels are divided by explosive gables. The portal is crowned by an aedicule-like structure with a figure of the church patron.

inner space

The nave has three aisles . The nave and the straight closed choir are by coffered barrel vaults covered, on high pointed arch arcades rest.

Leaded glass window

The church has stained glass windows from the 19th and early 20th centuries depicting scenes from the life of St. Gildas. Four windows depicting the baptism of Saint Gildas, the miracle of the fish, his Assumption into heaven and the Assumption of Mary were made by Eugène-Stanislas Oudinot in 1874.

  • Baptism of St. Gildas

  • Fish miracle

  • Assumption of St. Gilda into heaven

  • Assumption Day

High altar

High altar
  • The high altar was commissioned in 1657 from the architect Olivier Martinet from Laval and built into the church in 1664. In 1773 it was restored and gilded by Pierre Plessix from Vannes. The altar is made of stone and marble, in the center is a painting depicting the resurrection of Christ. On the sides there are niches framed by columns, which are occupied on the left with a figure of the Madonna and on the right with a figure of St. Anne (instruction of Mary). A further three niches with figures of saints, crowned by split gables, form the upper end. In 1965, the altar was added to the list of listed buildings ( Base Palissy ) in France as Monument historique .

Reclining figure of Christ

Reclining figure of Christ

The reclining figure of Christ is dated to the first quarter of the 16th century. She originally belonged to a burial group housed in the Chapelle du Saint-Sépulchre (Chapel of the Holy Sepulcher) of the Order of the Hospitallers of the Holy Spirit . The figure is made of limestone and still has paint remains. The other figures are no longer preserved. In 2008, the reclining figure was added to the list of listed objects ( Base Palissy ) in France as Monument historique .

organ

organ

The organ consists of two prospects that rest on the balustrade of the gallery . The organ was created in 1761 by the organ builder Hubert Waltrin. It was renewed and expanded by Jules Heyer in 1860.

literature

  • Brittany. Hachette, Guides Bleus, Paris 1991, ISBN 2-01-015841-5 , p. 175.
  • Le Patrimoine des Communes du Morbihan . Flohic Éditions, Volume 1, Paris 1996, ISBN 2-84234-009-4 , pp. 66-67.

Web links

Commons : Saint-Gildas (Auray)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Église Saint-Gildas in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
  2. ↑ Stained glass window in the Base Palissy of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
  3. ↑ High altar in the Base Palissy of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
  4. ↑ High altar in the Base Palissy of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
  5. ↑ Reclining figure of Christ in the Base Palissy of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
  6. ^ Organ in the Base Palissy of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
  7. ^ Organ (instrument) in the Base Palissy of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
  8. ^ Organ in the Base Palissy of the French Ministry of Culture (French)

Coordinates: 47 ° 40 ′ 1.9 ″  N , 2 ° 59 ′ 10.3 ″  W.