The Mémorial des Bretons morts pour la France

The Mémorial des Bretons morts pour la France pendant la Première guerre mondiale in Sainte-Anne-d'Auray is a large-scale war memorial. Designed by René Ménard, an architect from Nantes, the structure was built between 1922 and 1932 by the five dioceses of Brittany. It stands 52 meters tall with a diameter of 12 meters. The monument was intended as a republican commemoration, though it features a Catholic character, and aims to record the names of all Bretons who died during the war.

On the horseshoe-shaped wall that surrounds the monument, marble plaques display the names of 8,000 Bretons who died during the conflict. These plaques accompany a way of the cross. The architecture features a rotunda supporting eight arcades, crowned by a Saracen helmet roof and an openwork cross. Inside, a dome houses a monolithic altar made of pink granite from Ploumanac'h. The entrance is framed by two large granite bas-reliefs by Jules-Charles Le Bozec, representing the allegories of Victory and Peace.

The memorial's underground space contains a funerary crypt organized into five small chapels, one for each of the five dioceses of Brittany. Because of subsequent conflicts that claimed further lives after 1932, a mausoleum was placed in the center of the crypt dedicated to all those who died in all wars. Symbolic graves for a sailor and a soldier are guarded by Saint Michael, the patron of France, and Saint Yves, the patron of Brittany.

At its inauguration in 1932, the monument was blessed with extraordinary splendor and solemnity by Mgr Maglione, the apostolic nonce. A huge crowd attended the ceremony, which featured a grand mass sung by Mgr Mignen. The monument was officially listed as a historic monument by a decree on September 7, 2016, with a subsequent decree on July 30, 2024, substituting the previous one.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons