Église Notre-Dame de Kernascléden, Gothic church from the 15th century in Kernascléden, France.
Église Notre-Dame de Kernascléden is a Flamboyant Gothic church built in granite in the 15th century. Its west front has a pointed portal beneath an eight-ray rose window, and the bell tower with its stone spire was rebuilt in 1877–79. Inside, a three-bay nave with a north aisle leads to a transept and a three-bay choir; the vaults carry the arms of the Rohans and the dukes of Brittany.
Construction began in the 1420s under Viscount Alain VIII de Rohan and Béatrix de Clisson, and the chapel was endowed in the 1428 testament of Marguerite de Bretagne. A Gothic inscription in the north aisle records its dedication to the Virgin by Yves de Pontsal, Bishop of Vannes, on 2 September 1453; the vaults were finished in 1464 by P. and J. Le Bail. The spire collapsed after a lightning strike in 1876 and was rebuilt from 1877 to 1879.
The church was dedicated to the Virgin on 2 September 1453 by Yves de Pontsal, Bishop of Vannes. The pardon once held in early September now takes place on 14 and 15 August. Since 2022 a resident priest has worked to restore Kernascléden as a Marian sanctuary and diocesan pilgrimage site.
The church is located in the village center and welcomes visitors during regular opening hours and special heritage events. Natural daylight is best for viewing the interior details, so planning a daytime visit allows you to fully appreciate the stone carvings and decorations.
The wall paintings in the south transept, a Dance of Death dated to around 1440, were rediscovered in 1912 under a coat of whitewash; the Hell scene was uncovered in 1923. The figures begin with a preacher in a pulpit, followed by a skeleton blowing a trumpet and people of every rank seized by death.
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