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Origin and history

The church of Saint Martin de Vitré, located in Ille-et-Vilaine, is a Catholic religious building built between 1867 and 1913, in a Romanesque style. Its Latin cross plan, its dogive vaults, and its bell tower-porch reflect a renewed Romanesque inspiration. The building is part of the urban transformations of Vitré in the 19th century, serving as a link between the old town and the new neighborhoods. Its construction, entrusted to architects Henri, Jules and Jacques Mellet, was slowed down by financial difficulties between 1870 and 1890, extending the construction site until 1913.

The church houses remarkable furniture, including two organs: the great organs (42 games) built by Victor Gonzalez between 1941 and 1948, delayed by the Second World War, and the choir organ (13 games) of Debierre (1883), of neo-Roman style. The sculptures of the capitals, made between 1892 and 1893 by Vergne and L. Cosson, as well as the murals of Louis Garin (1956-1957) in the chapel Notre-Dame de Grace, enrich his artistic heritage.

The bell tower houses five bells melted in 1885 by the Bollée du Mans foundry, including a 4 445 kg bumblebee. The building, registered as a historical monument in 2013, embodies both an architectural heritage and a symbol of Vitré's social changes. His furniture, like the wooden statue of the Virgin and Child by Jean Fréour, bears witness to his central role in local parish and cultural life.

The church of Saint Martin replaces a former place of worship whose founding seigneur was the seigneur of the Chastelet (Balazé), high vigilante of the parish. Its architecture, combining well-identified volumes and careful decorations, makes it a notable example of the religious renewal of the nineteenth century in Brittany, marked by a desire for modernity and urban prestige.

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