Chapel Saint-Gwenaël

Dedicated to Notre Dame de Bon Secours, and established according to tradition on a former monastery, it was known as Notre-Dame de la Croix in 1540, and marked the boundary of the Pennaroff suburb. A small building paved with terracotta tiles, with a rectangular plan dating from the 15th and 16th centuries and restored in 1854, it preserves the remains of 15th century sculpture on the east gable. In the XVIIth century, it is called "Chapel of the Holy Cross" (as shown by a reliquary "of the True Cross", dating from the XIXth century); several bourgeois weddings are celebrated there, and it is used as a starting point for processions, in particular during the Pardon on the first Sunday of October. Its bell is used in foggy weather to guide ships through the entrance pass, of which the Roche du Cochon is not the most formidable danger.

On the western slope of the Ellé valley, the site dominates a difference in height of about 80 metres. This particular topography, deliberately chosen, has resulted in some unusual developments: a shortened plan for the Sainte-Barbe chapel, a separate bell tower and caretaker's house arranged at a break in the slope of the plateau. This first ensemble was completed around 1700-1708 by a second chapel dedicated to Saint Michael, a bridge and stairs distributing the various terraces, and a path leading to the devotional fountain located below. This exceptional composition is related to the Baroque achievements of site development for the promenade. Here it was not only a question of discovering the landscape of the valley - which was much less wooded at the time - but also of facilitating the reception of pilgrims and the processions of the pardons.

Although the identity of the master builder who built the chapel is not known, recent research has shown the influence that another major building of Morbihan religious architecture, Notre-Dame-de-Quelven en Guern, built at the end of the 15th century, may have had on the Hennebont site. Consecrated in 1524, the Notre-Dame-de-Paradis chapel was practically completed around 1554.