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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The chapel Saint-Michel de Douarnenez is a religious building built in the 3rd quarter of the 17th century, more precisely from 1663, on the site of the old house of Michel Le Nobletz. Its structure adopts a form of cross, whose ends end in hemicycle, a rare architectural party for the time. The western facade, sober and classic, is rhythmized by a door framed with pilasters and surmounted by a broken pediment, while a small campanile crowns the gable wall.

On the inside, the painted arch, decorated between 1667 and 1675, houses four blocks at the cross of the transept representing 17th-century characters with wigs. The finely carved sandals and punch caps alternate between human heads and ornament motifs. An inscription attests to the laying of the first stone on August 12, 1663, as well as to the dates of construction in 1664 and 1665, engraved with the names of the actors involved, including the factories Matthieu Lozeac.

Classified as a Historical Monument by decree of 19 July 1957, the chapel illustrates Breton religious art of the modern era. Its location, on Place Saint-Michel and Rue du Port-Rhu, makes it a major heritage landmark of Douarnenez, in the Finistère. The property now belongs to the municipality, perpetuating its role in local life.

The available sources, including the Mérimée and Monumentum bases, underline its architectural and historical interest, while specifying its exact location: Place Saint-Michel, 29100 Douarnenez, with geographical precision deemed to be satisfactory a priori.

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