If du placître de Notre-Dame-de-Quelven

Guern

On the narrow plateau of Quelven, the great chapel of Notre-Dame raises its porch tower above a granite hamlet; in the enclosure, south of the nave, stands a yew that the State listed as early as 8 August 1931: "the yew of the enclosure of the chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Quelven, facing the Scala Sancta", says the list of listed sites. The Scala Sancta is the open-air altar of the pardon; it dates from 1737 according to Wikipedia and bears the date 1738 according to the Inventaire du patrimoine. The yew thus faces the heart of the pilgrimage, and the pilgrimage is old: the chapel is mentioned in 1401, and in 1451 Pope Nicholas V granted indulgences to those who came to pray there. Rebuilt from the end of the 15th century, so vast that it is readily called a basilica though it does not hold the title, it has been a listed historic monument since 1840. A tradition reported by Michel de Mauny holds that the Virgin chose the spot by throwing a ball that came to rest on the hill. The pardon of the Assumption, which is said to have gathered 30,000 pilgrims in the 19th century, is still held on 15 August, and the hamlet keeps the descent of the angel: according to Wikipedia, a wooden angel holding a candle slides down a rope stretched from the bell tower to light a bonfire. The tree itself has no known legend; its age, more than three hundred years, rests only on the departmental inventory of 2002 relayed by Wikipedia, and its measurements have not been published.

Wikipédia — Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Quelven ↗

Getting there : In the hamlet of Quelven, commune of Guern; the yew stands in the enclosure around the chapel (owned by the commune) and can be seen freely from outside. The pardon of Notre-Dame-de-Quelven takes place on 15 August; in 2025 the descent of the angel was announced for 27 July, at the Angel festival of the Amis de Quelven, according to the municipal bulletin.

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

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