St.-Pol-de-Léon

St.-Pol-de-Léon’s Cathedral, built in the 1200s and 1300s, is now a “Former Cathedral.” Something about a “bishopric” that did not survive an agreement between the pope and the government. The Kreisker Chapel (Chapelle du Kreisker) has the finest belfry in the province.

Church belfries and steeples in Brittany are of a very distinctive style. The tower, and indeed the spire above, are of various designs. But at the top of the tower, at each corner of the base of the steeple, there are small copies of the main spire. Sometimes one, sometimes two filigreed steeples, with four copies as pinnacles at the base of the steeple. Dozens of cathedrals or large churches, and hundreds of country churches, seem to follow this pattern.

Women on the street were dressed in one of the many Breton costumes, but it may have been for a special holiday. The costumes of Brittany possess surprising richness and variety, there are dozens of different designs of these fine clothes. The coiffe, or headdress, is unique to a town, or area — the residence of the wearer. Several cities display collections of traditional dress in their museums.