Chapelle Sainte-Barbe

Callac

Above the lavoir de Pont ar Vaë, on the road to Botmel, the chapelle Sainte-Barbe is a small rectangular granite building. Its south gable is decorated with crockets and fantastical animals, probably two lions, and its bell turret is topped by a granite half-sphere that gives it, from a distance, the look of a clock face. On the north portal can be read the inscription '1731 GUILLAUME LE POULLEN', the name of a noted local joiner. Built in the early 16th century, the chapel was altered in 1688, an inscribed date recorded by the Inventaire, and restored around 1985. It long belonged to a private church council held by families of Callac. Inside are three old statues of polychrome wood: Saint Barbara with her palm and her tower, a 16th-century Virgin and Child in which the Child holds a bird, and Saint Margaret driving her cross into the jaws of the dragon she vanquishes. The altar stone bears the name of a female donor. Saint Barbara, patroness of those threatened by fire and lightning, was greatly venerated in the area: her pardon lasted three full days and ended with the year's fair. InfoBretagne also counts a fontaine Sainte-Barbe among the fountains of the commune. Authors do not entirely agree on the date: the Inventaire and the town hall favour the early 16th century, while the description by J. Guillotin, taken up by InfoBretagne, leaned towards the late 16th or early 17th century.

Inventaire du patrimoine de Bretagne — Chapelle Sainte-Barbe (Callac) ↗

Getting there : In the town of Callac, at 11 rue Sainte-Barbe, above the lavoir de Pont ar Vaë. The surroundings are open access; the opening days of the interior are not documented (to be checked).

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

Ambient sound