Chapelle Sainte-Anne de Saint-Dolay

Saint-Dolay

At the heart of the hamlet that bears its name, a few kilometres from the village of Saint-Dolay, the chapel of Sainte-Anne has raised its grey granite walls since the end of the Middle Ages. According to local sources, its construction goes back to the 15th century, at the height of the flowering of Marian and hagiographic devotion in Brittany, though some surveys date it rather to the 16th century. What is attested is that in the Middle Ages it was the goal of a much-frequented pilgrimage: local historians see in this the sign of a popular devotion solidly rooted well before the neighbouring sanctuary of Sainte-Anne-d'Auray became, from the apparitions to Yves Nicolazic in 1623–1625, the great centre of the cult of Saint Anne in Brittany. The chapel of Saint-Dolay thus illustrates an older and more discreet piety. It went through dark hours during the Revolution: in 1793, revolutionaries tried unsuccessfully to set it on fire, before having its roof taken down, the slates of which were sold at the market of La Roche-Bernard. Restored afterwards, it remains the property of the commune and continues to welcome visitors who come to pray far from the tourist bustle of coastal Morbihan. Listed as a monument historique, it remains today a quiet stopping place for anyone wishing to understand the deep roots of the cult of Saint Anne well before Sainte-Anne-d'Auray.

Getting there : Free admission; municipal chapel at the hamlet of Sainte-Anne

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

Ambient sound