Église Saint-Melaine de Moigné

Le Rheu

The present church of this hamlet of Le Rheu, on the doorstep of Rennes, preserves a Romanesque core of the 11th–12th century: the semicircular apse, pierced by three arrow-slit windows, and the north wall of the nave have come through nine centuries without being rebuilt. The building stands on the remains of a Gallo-Roman site, a sign of continuous religious occupation since Antiquity. In the 15th century, major works moved the south wall and created an asymmetry that is still visible; in 1434, the chapel of Saint-Gilles was added on the north side, with its stained glass, now listed, and its wall paintings rediscovered by test soundings. The medieval crossing tower disappeared in the 19th century, replaced by a neoclassical bell tower and a transept with two side chapels. The whole thus illustrates eight centuries of alterations around a Romanesque heart that remains legible.

Getting there : free admission (church open, hamlet of Moigné)

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound