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Origin and history

The parish church Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption du Faouët, located in Morbihan, is a building whose origins date back to at least the thirteenth or fourteenth century, as evidenced by the western inner gate, the oldest vestige. The present structure, mainly built between the late 15th and 16th centuries, is characterized by a central nave flanked by collaterals, a transept, and a polygonal choir. Its bell tower, with the Scandinavian-inspired roof, as well as the southern gate and the ossuary, were listed as historical monuments in 1933.

The monument has undergone multiple transformations over the centuries. The tower-clocher-porch, contemporary of the nave, dates from the late 15th century, while the south porch and choir were erected in the 16th century. In 1642 work was carried out in the northern collateral, and in 1743 the pediment of the Porch Tower was changed. Between 1829 and 1852, the arms of the transept and the southern sacristy were added. A devastating fire in 1917 destroyed much of the building, saving only the tower and bell tower. The reconstruction, carried out from 1924 to 1927, included a completely redesigned choir and sacristies, as well as a false hollow brick vault.

Among the architectural peculiarities are the bell tower with multiple breaks, as well as two 16th-century standing gissants representing Bertrand de Trogoff and Peronnelle de Bouteville, local lords. These layrs, initially placed in the church founded by their families, are now partially separated from their original tomb, located in the old cemetery. The ossuary, once open and decorated with aligned skulls, is now walled, recalling medieval funeral practices.

The church occupies an outlying square in the city of Faouët, where the center is dominated by the halls of the sixteenth century. Its history reflects the architectural and social evolutions of Brittany, from the Middle Ages to modern restorations, while preserving tangible traces of its seigneurial and religious past.

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