Ancient Chapels in the Brittany Countryside

It seems every city in Brittany has a town center occupied by a church, frequently a large, ornate cathedral. They're beautiful to tour and can be imposing in their size. But there are numerous smaller chapels scattered all about the countryside in small villages and sometimes all on their own as if the towns they served had dwindled away leaving nothing but farmland.  

We visited two that are not more than a few miles from where we're staying, the Chapel of St. Adrienne and the Chapel of St. Jacques. Both date back to the 14th or early 15 century and exhibit typical Celtic architecture which is ornate, in a medieval sort of way, and asymmetrical with roofs longer on one side than the other and doors set off to the side more frequently than in the center of the wall. 

Here's St Adrienne, which sits near the road and is surrounded on all sides by farmland.  

This is the Chapel of St Jacque, nestled in a small village near Bannalec.

The village, like so many we've seen, is utterly charming. It's just a small enclave of buildings and homes that were probably the original houses built on some farm or stream where a mill was located.

Many of the buildings, including the homes, have windows that are a throwback to ther original structures. This was one of the windows in the chapel. 

It seems every town has a few buildings that are abandoned and in disrepair. Some of these were damaged in WWII and never rebuilt. Others are just older buildings that are the victims of time.

Even in the crumbling buildings, there is a sense of ancient history and heritage everywhere you look. There are very few new homes this far from the major cities. Most houses are a beautiful mixture of old stonework and modern windows and doors. A simple stroll through a village is like a stroll through time.