Daoulas Abbey Ruins

Daoulas, France

The buildings of former Daoulas Abbey - a cloister and a 12th century font, an oratory and a monumental 16th century fountain, together with the 18th century conventual house - are an exceptional tribute to Breton art from the 10th century onwards. It was established by Guyomarch IV de Léon in 1173, but there has been at least a church since the 6th century. The former abbey was raided and looted by Vikings.

Daoulas Abbey was secularized in 1771-1792 and moved as a private property. The abbey has been renowned since 1986 for the quality and originality of its archaeological, historical or ethnological exhibitions organised in collaboration with some of the most known world wide museums. The abbey houses a superb medicinal garden with over 250 species. It is still structured and organised like most middle age/renaissance convent or monastery gardens.

References:

Comments

Your name



Details

Founded: 1173
Category: Religious sites in France
Historical period: Birth of Capetian dynasty (France)

Rating

4.4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

gwena GWENAMA (6 months ago)
A lovely place, where "rêveries" are welcome. It is so quiet, but also so interesting : you'll discover medicinal plants, a great garden to walk around, a chapel and some monastery ruins, but also a nice exhibition inside the main building (changing every year) and a café where you can have a lunch or some snacks. I simply love to visit it each year!
Fredi V (8 months ago)
The entire area is very nice. The abbay itself: only the garden to be visited. If you like gardens, fine, otherwise visiting the surrounding buildings (for free) is sufficient.
Tim Seymour (2 years ago)
Tranquil gardens with many medicinal plants and a fascinating exhibition about death as seen by different cultures.
Eddy Allefs (3 years ago)
Well maintained garden. Clean toilets Cafe and souvenir shop Parking nearby. 8 euro entrance fee, its worth it !
Dominique Ricci (3 years ago)
Very nice 3hectares garden with lovely rest of an abbaye. The guide was quite knowledgeable and interesting to listen to. Lovely photo expo. Personally I didn't like the actual pictures but the pictures within the garden was a fantastic initiative ? definitely recommend the visit
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Church of St Donatus

The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.

The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.

The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.