The unique and haunting granite giants of La Vallee des Saints in Brittany

Carnoët (Breton: Karnoed) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor (Aodoù-an-Arvor) department in the north of Brittany. On the hillside above Carnoët a large scale project is underway that celebrates the heritage and Celtic history of Brittany. La Vallee des Saints - The Valley of the Saints is the concept of Philippe Abjean. His idea is to erect 1,000 monumental statues, three or four metres high, each carved from a slab of granite. It has been described as the 21st century Carnac, which is the site of thousands of prehistoric standing stones in the south of Brittany.

There are currently over 60 statues standing on the hillside, representing the monks who came over from Ireland, Wales or Cornwall to bring Christianity to Brittany. Each statue on The Valley of the Saints is of a Saint linked with local legends which in turn are a blend of Celtic, Gallo-Roman and Christian culture. Each statue is unique in appearance and carved by a variety of artists. St Tugdual, St Hernin, St Gildas, St Brieuc and St Malo were the first of the stone Saints to illustrate the legendary history of Brittany and more of the many Saints venerated all over Brittany have been and will be added. Each Saint must be a Breton Saint, and must have lived in Brittany between the Third and Tenth century.