Church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Joie

This chapel faces the magnificent Bay of Audierne. Arriving by the road to Saint-Jean-Trolimon and just before the coast that climbs towards it, one can see its three imposing bell towers. It is called "Cathedral of the Dunes", because it was built on dunes. Built in the 15th century, it was first dedicated to Saint Maudez, then to Notre-Dame de Tronoan invoked by the families of sailors who disappeared at sea, in order to find their bodies.

The chapel would have been built in the 13th century then restored at the end of the 14th / beginning of the 15th century. Destroyed during the revolution, its stones were used for the construction of a guard house on the coast. Today in ruins, it still retains its charm and especially this splendid rose at the bedside, like a stone lace, which dates from the early fifteenth century. The chapel is one of the best representatives of the architectural style of Pont-Croix.

Between the rocky peaks of Penmarc'h and the Pointe du Raz lies the majestic Bay of Audierne, so dreaded even today on stormy days. It is there, in the heart of the Bigouden country, that the chapel dedicated to Notre Dame de Penhors is located. The Grand Pardon, on the first Sunday of September, attracts hundreds of people from all over Bigouden, but also from Cornwall, as attested by a document from 1732 which states that "devotion and indulgences attract a very large number of people".