Chapelle de Lambader

Plouvorn

Soaring above the woods of the Léon, the openwork spire of Lambader forms, with those of the Kreisker at Saint-Pol-de-Léon and Notre-Dame-du-Mur at Morlaix, a trio of bell towers that count among the most admired in Brittany. The chapel was founded in the first half of the 15th century, by a deed of Duke John V dated 7 December 1432; local tradition attributes its origin to the vow of a knight of Penhoat, miraculously returned from crusade, who is said to have promised to raise a sanctuary to the Virgin. The very name Lambader is thought to preserve the memory of an even older cult, that of Saint Patern, whose monastery — "Lann-Patern" — would have occupied the site; some early authors, such as the Chevalier de Fréminville, even suggested that Lambader had been the seat of a Templar commandery, though this has never been clearly established by sound sources. Badly damaged over the centuries, the chapel was entirely restored between 1875 and 1881 by the Quimper contractor Jean-Louis Le Naour, who rebuilt the tower and the spire in particular. Every Whit Monday, the great pardon of Lambader (the Breton pilgrimage festival) drew thousands of the faithful in the 19th century from fourteen neighbouring parishes, venerating the Virgin and Child kept in the choir — a Marian devotion still celebrated today.

Getting there : Free admission.

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

Ambient sound