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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Exupère de Gahard, located in the heart of the village in Ille-et-Vilaine, finds its origins in a monastery founded in the fifth century, destroyed by the Vikings in the ninth century. In the 11th century, the estate was ceded by the Duke Alain Fergent to the Abbey of Marmoutier to establish a Benedictine priory, marking the birth of the parish and an agglomeration around the sanctuary. Gahard, Nullus Diocesis, reported directly to the Pope, giving the church a special status. The monks, opposed to the Duke of Brittany at the end of the 14th century, saw their priory ravaged, resulting in the reconstruction of the north and south collaterals in 1405, as well as the cross of the transept.

In the 15th century, a Gothic porch was joined to the façade, while the flat-side choir was built in the 16th century. The church underwent reshuffles until the 18th century, becoming parish during the Revolution, while the former priory was sold as a national good. In 1793, the buildings were fortified against the Salesian troops. Restored in the 19th century by the architect Béziers-Lafosse, it was listed as a Historical Monument in 1968. Its protected furniture includes an eighteenth-century pulpit, a statue of Saint Barbe and a 17th-century Christ, as well as an ionic marble baldaquin.

The building, from plan to Latin cross, preserves a Romanesque nave from the 12th century to four spans, vaulted in frame, and low-sides enhanced in the 15th century, masking the old bays. The crossover of the vaulted transept and the west porch date from the same period. The flat bedside, blind, was attached to the prioral home. An inscription "Lan thousand four cens five" on the north gate, surmounted by a bishop's head (probably Saint Exupère), attests to medieval works. A broken stone near the entrance used to be a support for coffins before burial.

The church illustrates the architectural evolution of Brittany, mixing Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance elements. Its tricolor flag, probably dating from the Third Republic, and its octagonal bell in frame underline its historic anchor. The archives mention restorations in the 19th century, preserving its medieval character despite subsequent modifications. Today it remains a communal property, a rare testimony of the rural churches of Ille-et-Vilaine, protected for its movable and real estate heritage.

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