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A little history of Saint-Mathieu church in Morlaix

The church | Odenel / CC-BY-SA
Drowning Accident Parish church Mary Stuart Saint-Mathieu church in Morlaix

Saint-Mathew

Saint-Mathieu district is the oldest one in Morlaix. In the past, it was the trading heart of the old city.

Saint-Mathieu priory dates back to the 11th century.

A Romanesque church was founded, then, outside the town’s ramparts. They reraised it between 1498 and 1505... but the most important transformation dates back to 1824.

We immediately notice the Renaissance bell-tower (1548), the first Renaissance one raised in Brittany!

A curious Virgin

Inside, don’t miss the strange opening Virgin (15th c.).

The statue is a simple Virgin Mary effigy, with the Holy Trinity inside!

It comes from Notre-Dame-du-Mur collegiate church ("Our-Lady-from-the-Wall"). It was made by an artist in Cologne, Germany...

Notre-Dame-du-Mur

A tower... then nothing else

Duke of Brittany Jean II founded this collegiate in 1295: its name refers to the city’s rampart.

But after centuries of unstinting devotion, they decided to destroy it, in 1805...

They only kept the bell-tower. But during the demolition, the tower collapsed on houses, in March 1806...

Mary Stuart

Anne of Brittany came to pray here in 1514, so did Mary Stuart, the young Scottish lady who married French dauphin François II.

The little one, who was only 6 years old, came in Morlaix in 1548: she spent two days here. She went to Mass in the collegiate church!

About the the author

Vinaigrette
I'm fond of strolls and History, with juicy and spicy details!