Bretagne General Tips by Mikebond

Favorite Thing: An enclos paroissial (above you see the plural form; the English translation is "parish enclosure") is a typical religious architecture in Bretagne.
It consists of:
1) a church;
2) a charnel house (it can also be used as a normal chapel);
3) a calvaire, the real symbol of Breton faith. Calvaires are big sculptures representing the Crucifixion and other Biblic scenes;
4) a cemetery (not obligatory).
These four elements are located within an enclosure, which explains the name.
I have visited quite a lot of them during my last trip to Bretagne: Saint-Jean-du-Doigt, Saint-Thégonnec, Guimiliau and more.


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Fondest Memory: SPREV stands for "Sauvegarde du Patrimoine Religieux En Vie" ("Protection of the Living Religious Heritage").
It is a non-profit organisation of students who lead you to the discovery of the Breton churches and enclos paroissiaux.
Most of them are young women and most of them are able to make the explanation very interesting, with anecdotes and questions to the visitors. Only a young man who told us about the Roscoff church was quite boring.
However, it was sad to realize that this "job" is not well rewarded, since the tourists who really want to enrich their culture are very few. In a church, my parents and I were the only people who listened to the guide.
You can find more information about SPREV here.

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