Chapel of Sainte-Marie-du-Ménez-Hom
At the foot of the Menez-Hom, often in the mist, stands the beautiful chapel of Sainte-Marie-du-Menez-Hom. An unmissable heritage jewel! Listed as a Historic Monument since 1916, it was built in 1570 on the ruins of a Romanesque chapel. The parish enclosure consists of a monumental triple gate (1739) and a calvary with three crosses. The chapel has magnificent restored pink altarpieces. It was once a popular place of pilgrimage and fair. Today it is still more than 40,000 visitors who make a stop there every year! The chapel association, which is very active, offers guided tours to groups or individuals passing through.
About this building
One enters the parish enclosure or placitre through a monumental triple gate built in 1739. The central door is surmounted by a pediment where niches containing a statue of the Virgin and one of Saint Hervé are carved on each side. It is closed by a gate that is only opened when funeral processions pass through. The chapel, in the form of a Latin cross with a chancel with a straight chevet that does not protrude much, was built thanks to large donations from merchants who came from the four corners of Brittany to take part in the four major fairs, including the one devoted to horses and the one on 17 June (close to the solstice), the day of Saint Hervé (son of a bard, blind from birth and a musician helped by a wolf). Sainte-Marie was enlarged between 1591 and 1597 with the doubling of the aisles. Inside the chapel, the central altar and the two side altars are surmounted by altarpieces made between 1703 and 1710. They were classified as Historical Monuments in 1912, even before the chapel.
