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Heritage classified

Origin and history

The Cemetery Cross of the Fougerêts is a granite banner cross, typical of the 17th century Breton Christian architecture. It is distinguished by its structure as a building block, its square base at the corners cut down and its circular barrel. Overwhelmed by a straight pediment, it has a gondroned decoration at its base and a corded pattern ring. Its two sides present sculptures in high relief: a Calvary with Christ, the Virgin and Saint John on one side, and a Virgin of pity (Pietà) on the other. This type of representation, frequent in the Breton cemetery crosses, illustrates Marian devotion and meditation on the Passion of Christ.

The cross is erected on a base of shale, covered with a monolithic granite slab, which is placed on a three-degree walk. This monument, owned by the commune of Fougerêts, was listed as historical monuments on 13 May 1937. Its inscription bears witness to its heritage value, both for its architectural style and for its religious iconography, characteristic of Breton Christian art of the modern era.

Located in the cemetery of the commune, this painting cross plays a symbolic and memorial role. At the time of its construction, in the seventeenth century, the cemetery crosses served as a spiritual landmark for the faithful and marked the sacred space of the burial place. In Morbihan, a region with a strong Catholic tradition, these monuments also reflected the collective piety and importance of religious brotherhoods in local life. Their presence strengthened the link between the living and the dead, in a society where death was omnipresent and ritualized.

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