Saint-Maudez combines remarkable sacred sculptures with a route that also showcases the landscape. The Calvaire des Templiers is one of the oldest known calvaries in Haute-Bretagne. The Circuit des Ifs runs along agricultural paths and offers views across a valley. Saint-Maudez parish church is also a point of interest along the route. This gives you a choice of different highlights: a specific monument, the parish complex and the landscape.

The Calvaire des Templiers and its two sides

One distinctive feature of the Calvaire des Templiers is its shaft, which was reinstalled so that it can rotate, making both sculpted sides visible. One side depicts the Virgin and Child. The other shows Christ on the cross, flanked by Mary and Saint John. Both scenes belong to the same monument, but focus on different figures. When exploring the calvary, you can view the sides separately and compare their imagery. This ability to rotate the shaft, and the resulting change between the depictions, is a particularly notable detail. Alongside its regional distinction as one of the oldest known calvaries in Haute-Bretagne, the work is also characterised by its specific design: it is not only the cross as a whole that matters, but also its two views, each with its own figures.

The parish complex and protected cemetery crosses

Saint-Maudez parish church is a point of interest along the Circuit des Ifs. The parish complex also contains a sculpted calvary and a statue of Saint Maudez. This sets the ensemble apart from the Calvaire des Templiers: there, the focus is on the two sculpted sides of the same shaft; in the parish complex, another cross and the statue of the saint are highlighted. Organising the sculptures by location makes it easy to distinguish these different motifs. The two cemetery crosses in Saint-Maudez are also part of the local heritage. They are protected as historic monuments; the protection date is 28 October 1926. This date refers to the cemetery crosses. It is a different kind of classification from the Calvaire des Templiers’ regional distinction for its age.

The Circuit des Ifs between country paths and valley views

The Circuit des Ifs highlights different features from those of the individual sculptures: the route runs along agricultural paths and offers views across a valley. Both the character of the paths and the scenery are part of the route as described. The parish church adds another point of interest along the Circuit des Ifs and connects the route with sacred heritage. By contrast, the Calvaire des Templiers draws attention to the sculpted figures on a single monument. This contrast can help you choose what to focus on in Saint-Maudez: you can concentrate on the two sculpted sides and the other works in the parish complex, or explore the Circuit des Ifs and its paths and valley views. The town thus offers clear starting points for both a cultural-historical and a landscape-focused perspective, although each calls for a different kind of appreciation.

Discover more destinations: Trévou-Tréguignec, Mûr-De-Bretagne, La Roche-Derrien, Plurien, Pluduno, Le Hinglé, Lanvellec, Lanmodez.

For the broader travel overview: Côtes-D’armor.