Notre-Dame-de-Croaz-Batz, Classified historical monument and church in Roscoff, Brittany, France
Notre-Dame de Croaz Batz is a church in the center of Roscoff, in Brittany, built in the Flamboyant Gothic style with a Renaissance bell tower. The tower is made of finely carved granite, and the church is set within a walled enclosure that also contains two small chapels and two stone ossuaries.
Construction began around 1520 on a dune reclaimed from the sea, funded by local shipowners who wanted a place of worship for their community. The Renaissance tower was added between 1575 and 1576, completing a building that had grown slowly over several decades.
The stone carvings on the facade show sailing ships and caravels, a direct reference to the seafaring world that shaped Roscoff. These details were placed there by the shipowners who funded the building, and they remain one of the most telling signs of how closely the church was tied to maritime trade.
The church stands on place Lacaze-Duthiers in the heart of Roscoff and is open all year without any entry charge. No booking is needed, and the entrance is adapted for people with reduced mobility.
The facade has 18 stone figures frozen in place, showing people and animals in unusual poses, a rare detail in Breton church architecture. Inside, one chapel holds alabaster carvings brought by sea from England centuries ago, long before the church itself was finished.
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