Chêne à la Vierge de la forêt de La Guerche

Rannée

On the edge of the forest of La Guerche, close to the border of the Mayenne, an old oak almost disappeared, until 2018, beneath dozens of small green-painted wooden niches crowded with statuettes of the Virgin, Christ and the saints, rosaries, crosses and votive offerings. Local tradition, taken up by the hiking-trail notice of Vitré Communauté, holds that in 1792 (in 1791 according to other accounts) Republican soldiers searching for a non-juring priest came upon a young girl praying at the foot of the tree, before a statuette of the Virgin set in the trunk; refusing to give away the priest's hiding place, she was supposedly shot on the spot. The sources consulted cite no document of the period: the story remains a tradition. The oak has become a discreet place of devotion, where people come to pray and leave a statuette. On the night of 11 to 12 July 2018 a fire ravaged it; the trunk was left black and the niches, broken, ended up at its foot. From the next day, according to Unidivers, the faithful were bringing new objects; in 2021 the oak was still standing and the niches had returned, and in 2025 it was described as charred but alive. No documented age is known for it; it is said to be several centuries old. It bears the name of La Guerche, whose forest it borders, but it grows in the commune of Rannée.

Unidivers — Le Chêne à la Vierge de Rannée ↗

Getting there : From La Guerche-de-Bretagne, take the road towards Craon and then towards Fontaine-Couverte; park near the farm of la Rocherie, from where a small signpost marks a path to follow for about a hundred metres to the tree (Unidivers). No access adapted for people with reduced mobility according to sortir-en-bretagne.

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

Ambient sound