The setting of the Chapel of St.Gildas is one of the most beautiful in the Blavet Valley. On a grassy bank overlooking the river, it nestles under a huge granite outcrop and is the perfect spot for a picnic. The Chapel marks the site where Gildas, an Irish monk, preached Christianity to a local, mainly pagan population during the 6th century. Gildas and his fellow monk Bieuzy, are said to have lived in a cave at the base of the rock where the chapel now stands and to have had miraculous healing powers.
Legend has it that after healing the daughter of a local Count who had been seriously injured by her husband, Gildas was under threat of death and it was no longer safe for him to remain in the area. Bieuzy, however, continued to preach and was renowned for his ability to cure rabies, which was widespread at the time. Bieuzy met an unpleasant demise when he refused to interrupt one of his sermons to cure the rabid dog of a local pagan chief who later returned and attacked Bieuzy with an axe. A rather macabre statue of Bieuzy with an axe lodged in his head can be seen inside the chapel today.
The chapel is also open to the public every afternoon except Monday from mid-July to mid-September as part of the Art in the Chapels programme. Each year the organisers invite artists from all over the world to display their work in one of 26 local chapels, of which Saint Gildas is one. The Chapels make the perfect back drop for the contemporary art on display and offer visitors a wonderful opportunity to explore the architecture of these historic buildings.
References:The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.
Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.