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Origin and history

The church of Saint Uniac, located in the village of Saint Uniac in Ille-et-Vilaine, finds its origins in the sixth century with the foundation of a priory by Saint Uniac, a Breton monk having established a monastery nearby. This priory, initially dependent on the Abbey of Saint-Méen, became a parish in the ninth century. The present volume of the church and part of its walls date back to the early 11th century, marking the transition to a Romanesque building. The traces of this period could remain in the nave, the choir, and the location of the old sacristy, perhaps inherited from the original monastic choir.

In the 14th century, the church was enriched with two seigneurial chapels north of the nave, one of which, in the east, was partially rebuilt and raised in the 15th century. A third chapel, added to the south during the same period, bears witness to the increasing importance of the place. The structure of the nave, dated from the end of the 14th century, and that of the choir, of the 15th century, reveal a remarkable craftsmanship: the "short punch" frame is decorated with plant motifs drawn with charcoal on a background of lime, with alternate inscriptions "IHS" and "MARIA". These elements, rediscovered in 1990, are a rare example of preserved medieval decor.

The 19th century marked a major transformation with the destruction of the cross-tower in 1853, replaced by a bell tower erected in 1859 by the Malouin architect Hippolyte Béziers-Lafosse. The latter also rebuilt the western façade between 1856 and 1859, incorporating an old re-used door. The interior decor, typical of the period, contrasts with the preserved medieval elements, such as the south window of the choir dated 1547, originally located in the northern chapel. The church, which has been a historic monument since 1997, embodies almost a millennium of Breton religious and architectural history.

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