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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The chapel of Locmaria, located in Nostang in Morbihan, is a religious building plan in Tau, built mainly in the 15th century with renovations in the 17th century. Oriented and coated, it is distinguished by its western facade with regular implementation, pierced by a broken arched door surmounted by a chamfered cross. Inside, a diaphragm wall separates the nave into two unaxed parts, topped by a pyramidal bell. The high nave, entirely painted in the 15th century, preserves traces of a macabre dance and an Annunciation, while windows of the 15th century, partially restored, adorn the bedside. A degraded fresco, depicting three dead men calling for three riders, illustrates the medieval theme of the Three Dead and Three Vifs, with moralizing inscriptions still partially legible.

Classified as a historical monument since 29 April 2005, the chapel initially depended on the Hospitallers of Saint John of Jerusalem in the 12th century, before passing under the tutelage of Notre-Dame de la Joie Abbey in the 13th century. Rebuilt in the 15th century, it temporarily served as a parish church between 1681 and 1685, when the church of Nostang was renovated. Subsequent changes include the partial filling of the north transept, the addition of a door, and restoration campaigns in the 20th and 21st centuries (glass windows in 1981, southern wall in 1992, frame in 1999, north transept in 2001). The granite bentier bears two unidentified coats of arms, one of which evokes a deer similar to that of the manor house of Palivarc.

The glass windows of the bedside, dated from the first half of the 15th century, incorporate family coats of arms, including those of Botdéru (Plumelin, Carnac) and coat of arms of Brittany and France. Their layout was modified during restorations, notably in 1981 by the Hubert de Sainte Marie workshop. The chapel, a communal property, preserves remarkable architectural elements such as a braided bay, a stone altar hidden by a carved wooden chest, and painted panelling. Its internal disaxement and masonry covers bear witness to a complex history, mixing religious functions, medieval macabre symbols and later adaptations.

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