Chapel of Our Lady of the White

The building in front of you is the Chapel of Notre-Dame-la-Blanche, one of eight sites in Guérande listed as Historic Monuments. Its history is not entirely clear, but an inscription discovered on its façade suggests it was built around 1348. However, it’s likely that another religious building once stood here, probably destroyed during the sack of Guérande a few years earlier.

It was John of Montfort, Duke of Brittany, who ordered the construction of this chapel, dedicated to the Virgin Mary under the name Notre-Dame-la-Blanche, a reference to her purity and virginity. It’s very possible that the second Treaty of Guérande was signed here in 1381.

During the French Revolution, the building was sold as national property and lost its religious function, serving instead as a storage space for forage. Parts of it were even destroyed at that time. In the 19th century, plans were made to demolish it completely to build a road and sell off the materials. But in 1853, it was purchased by Father Sorin, who chose to restore it rather than tear it down.

The spire was rebuilt in 1913, three years after the chapel was officially listed as a Historic Monument. Thanks to these efforts, it still stands proudly today in the heart of Guérande.