Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church Notre-Dame-de-Kerdro, located in Locmariaquer, Brittany, is built between 1082 and 1120 by the monks of Quimperlé. Only the transept and the choir, of Romanesque style, remain from this initial period. The building suffered damage in 1548 during an English attack on the village, partially destroyed. The Romanesque parts were redesigned in the 17th and 18th centuries, with the construction of the current nave and structural changes. The bell tower was erected in 1817, followed by the doors west, north and south in 1835.

The 15th century monk, classified in 1907, and the 17th century retables (classified in 1965) bear witness to the richness of the furniture. Abstract and regional stained glass windows, created in 1960 by the Rault glassmaker, replace older elements. The Romanesque abside, supported by foothills, preserves traces of absidioles removed in the 18th century, while the carved capitals (heads of rams, plant motifs) illustrate Breton Romanesque art. The ensemble is protected as historical monuments, with a total inscription in 2023.

The church, in Latin cross, mixes archaic architectural elements (small stoneware, Roman bricks in re-use) and posterior additions like the southern porch, adorned with a Latin shield "Haec Porta Coelli" ("This is the door of the sky"). The facade bears the inscription "Hic Domus Dei" ("Here is the house of God"), highlighting its spiritual and community vocation since the Middle Ages.

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