Chapel of Saint-Colomban

The Saint-Colomban chapel is located in the hamlet of the same name, in Carnac . The chapel of st Colomban was built or started at the end of the 16th century, perhaps by the will of René de Larlan, rector of Carnac from 1585 to 1600, from a large seigniorial family of Erdeven (Kercadio) and Ploëmel (Coetquintin). This building is in flamboyant gothic style. An octagonal turret, with a spiral staircase, gives access to a short conical-shaped bell tower, erected on a cornice platform. This bell tower is pierced with bays and flanked by 4 small pinnacles.

About this building

The chapel is built in the flamboyant Gothic style and is in the form of a nave about twenty metres long, to which a transept is added to the south. Separated from the nave by an ogival arch, it houses an altar dedicated to the Virgin. The north door is dated 1621, but it is later than the construction, perhaps dating from the first restoration of the chapel. Under an embrace is a coat of arms bearing a cross charged with nine macles (coat of arms of the de Larlan family) and on a wall a coat of arms with three greyhounds, carried by two angels (coat of arms of the Champion family), the two families who built the chapel.

Key Features

  • Monuments

Visitors information

  • Parking within 250m
  • Muddy boot friendly

Other nearby buildings

GENEVI7VE louicellier

Church of Saint-Cornély

The church of Saint Cornély de Carnac has a reliquary bust of the saint in gilded wood so heavy, it seems, that it takes 4 people to lift it. The church is one of the most beautiful examples of the Renaissance style in Morbihan (17th century). One can appreciate its side porch (1792) surmounted by a granite baldachin, apparently carved from a local menhir. In the shape of a royal crown, it is the work of a stonemason from Baud named Kergoustin.

G Louicellier

Church of Saint-Gildas

The church of St Gildas owes its name to a 12th century priory which depends on the Benedictine abbey on the Rhuys peninsula. It was designed on the site of the former priory by the architect Gilles Monsay who combines medieval forms and baroque style. Work began in 1623 but was not completed until 1663. The bell tower of the three-storey square tower, however, was not completed until 1701. It dominates the whole town and will serve as a model for the region.

Chapel Notre-Dame de Penmern, Baden

Built in the 15th century on a place rich in remains from the Neolithic era, Roman and feudal, the chapel Notre Dame de Penmern stands near the Gulf of Morbihan. The Romanesque chapel was enlarged in the eighteenth and 19th century. Its simple architecture highlights its decorative elements, some of which are classified: a blue vault adorned with stars and 2 models of ships.