SAINT-GERMAIN CHURCH

The church of Saint-Germain is worth a visit and has many assets. First of all, the primitive church dates back to the 12th century but the present building was built in granite, over a period extending from 1470 to 1690. Started in flamboyant gothic style, it was completed in late Renaissance style. The nave, quite high, belongs to the Breton flamboyant gothic style: light pillars, large round arches, long sablières at the base of the vault in wooden panelling, decorated with monstrous or grotesque figures. It is true that the church is considered by many as one of the most beautiful in the city. It was completed in the 17th century by Gaultier, who was then working on the Parliament of Brittany. In the 16th century, the church of Saint-Germain was the parish of the rich merchants of the city. On the spot, there are some beautiful works: a monumental south portal in which columns are tiered: they form the same hierarchy of Doric, Ionic and Corinthian orders as in the chapel of the castle of Anet, property of Diane de Poitiers, the king's favorite. They are also based on the triumphal arch of Titus. However, the church still has the oldest stained glass window in Rennes, dating from the 16th century. It includes panels relating to the life of the Virgin, the Passion, the life of St. Anne, St. Joachim and St. John the Evangelist. Finally, the large stained glass window behind the choir is composed of fragments of stained glass windows, assembled without order: they had been destroyed during the Revolution and found in a barrel in the 19th century. At the foot of the building, the Place Saint-Germain has been given a new look.