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Origin and history

The Sainte-Anne Chapel on Batz Island is in fact the remains of a Romanesque church dedicated to Saint Paul Aurélien, built between the 10th and 11th centuries. It stands on the site of a monastery founded by this saint Breton, one of the seven founders of Brittany, who would have lived there and died in 594. The church, destroyed by the Viking invasions in 878, was rebuilt after the victory of Duke Alain Barbetorte over the Normans in 939. Its ruins, partially buried under the dunes, were rediscovered in 1860, although their desensitization led to the collapse of part of the nave.

According to a legend reported in the Life of Saint Paul Aurélien (884), the saint would have liberated the island of a dragon by attaching with his stole before rushing him into the sea. This stole, preserved in the present parish church, would actually date back to the eighth century. The monastery founded by Paul Aurélien prospered until the Viking raids, which made it a base for their expeditions. After their departure, the Romanesque church was erected thanks to the possible patronage of the Count of Rennes Juhel Beranger, although this dating (late 10th century) remains debated.

The church of Saint Paul-Aurélien, from plan to Latin cross, was the main place of worship of the island until the eighteenth century. Its progressive ensable, linked to the Little Ice Age (circa 1550), forced the inhabitants to move to the present town, around the chapel Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle. In 1786, the church was requisitioned by the king as a ammunition depot and destroyed during the Revolution. Its ruins, classified as a historical monument in 1980, now house an oratory dedicated to Saint Anne, patron saint of Brittany, celebrated each year during a pardon.

The building, 28 metres long, features a five-span nave, a little marked transept with absidioles, and a cul-de-four choir. Its walls in small irregular bellows and its arches in full hanger typical of the early Breton Romanesque make this a rare testimony of this period. Among its features are a pillar of the transept decorated with geometric motifs and a funeral slab engraved at the foot of the altar. Since 2016, the ruins have been restored to prevent their collapse.

The current chapel, located above the ruins, is one of the two listed monuments of the island with the lighthouse. Every year, on the last Sunday of July, it welcomes a pardon in honour of Saint Anne, attracting faithful and visitors. This site, marked by religious history and Breton legends, also illustrates the challenges posed by coastal erosion and the hazards of heritage preservation.

The archaeological site also reveals the past coexistence of two churches in the peninsula: the church of Saint Paul-Aurelien and a smaller one, Notre-Dame-du-Penity, destroyed at the end of the eighteenth century. A nearby rock, the Roch-ar-Bedy, was according to tradition the place of prayer of the saint. These elements underline the spiritual and historical importance of the island, linked both to the Christian origins of Brittany and to the natural and human upheavals that shaped its landscape.

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