Chapelle Sainte-Anne

Le Minihic-sur-Rance

Facing the Rance, the chapel of Sainte-Anne at Le Minihic-sur-Rance has for centuries gathered seafaring folk come to honour the patron saint of sailors and families. The present building, a reconstruction of 1660, succeeded an older chapel of which a bell of 1631 survives. Rectangular in plan, with a single bay, it is capped by a barrel vault adorned with the monogram of Christ and topped by a small dome carrying a square bell-turret. The interior preserves a 17th–18th-century altarpiece, choir panelling dated 1788 given by Saint-Malo shipowners — a tangible trace of the prosperity of river trade on the Rance — as well as a granite altar adorned with 17th-century coats of arms. Modern stained glass, the work of the master glazier Louis-René Petit, completes the ensemble. From 1676, weekly masses were endowed here; even today, two annual pilgrimages keep the devotion alive, on Saint Joseph's Day and on the feast of Saint Anne, recalling that the chapel honours the two saints together. Owned by the commune, it remains a discreet but living place of gathering, where maritime memory, popular religious art and the loyalty of a small rural pardon — the Breton pilgrimage festival — come together, a pardon that has stayed, come wind or high water, faithful to its calendar.

Getting there : Free admission, owned by the commune; open in particular during the two annual pardons and the Heritage Days

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

Ambient sound