Ancien Hôtel du Bât ou du Bol d'Or
MonumentHidden Treasure
Ancien Hôtel du Bât ou du Bol d'Or, located in Vitré (Département 35), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Vitré, Département 35, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.1239, -1.2137
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00090927
A Renaissance gem from the first quarter of the 16th century, the former Hôtel du Bât or Bol d'Or epitomises the golden age of Vitré's coaching inns, with its two-tone spiral staircase and rare overhanging wooden cabinet.
History
In the heart of Vitré, one of Brittany's best-preserved medieval towns, the former Hôtel du Bât - also known as the Bol d'Or - stands as a rare and precious example of early Breton Renaissance civil architecture. Built in the first quarter of the 16th century, it is one of the town's very few stone mansions dating from before the 17th century, a distinction that led to it being listed as a Historic Monument in 1926. What immediately strikes the informed visitor is the sobriety of the façade, typical of regional civil architecture of the period, which contrasts with the richness of the interior space. The building does not reveal itself immediately: you have to cross the threshold to discover a small wooden cabinet overhanging the entrance, a rare and ingenious device that evokes the back rooms of the great merchants, discreet surveillance areas where business was conducted. The stone spiral staircase alone is a masterpiece of local craftsmanship. The craftsmen played with the two favourite materials of the Vitré region: dark slate schist and ochre sandstone from Vitré, creating an alternating two-tone effect that transforms each flight of steps into an astonishingly modern graphic composition. This combination of stones, typical of well-to-do 16th-century buildings in Vitré, bears witness to the skills of Breton stonemasons. Situated on the main road between Le Mans and Rennes, the building was a strategic stop-off point for travellers and merchants on the major trade route through north-western France. The mark on the upstairs chimney supports the hypothesis that it was used for commercial purposes, anchoring the building in the prosperous textile economy for which Vitré was renowned throughout Europe at the time. Today, the Bol d'Or hotel blends harmoniously into the exceptional urban fabric of Vitré's old town, offering lovers of heritage and Renaissance architecture an authentic stop-off away from the big, overcrowded tourist sites. A visit that rewards the curious who are fascinated by the eloquent architectural details of daily life under the Ancien Régime.
Architecture
The Hôtel du Bât is in keeping with the tradition of Breton civil architecture of the early 16th century, which combines the solidity of local materials with a certain decorative approach inherited from the flamboyant Gothic style and inspired by the first stirrings of the Renaissance. The facade, built of ashlar in a distinctive style for its time in a town where timber-framed walls dominated, has a sober, unostentatious elevation to the street, in keeping with the bourgeois discretion of the merchants of La Vitre. The interior reveals the client's true architectural ambitions. The small wooden cabinet overhanging the entrance - sometimes called a "dressing room" or "gatehouse" - is a rare feature of the region's civil heritage. It enabled the hotelier or merchant to monitor comings and goings from a semi-private space, while visually dominating the reception hall. The fireplace on the first floor, with its engraved mark, has the formal characteristics of Breton Renaissance fireplaces: straight or slightly curved lintel, moulded jambs and sober but meticulous decoration. The stone spiral staircase is the centrepiece of the building. Two local stones with contrasting chromatic qualities were used in its construction: slate schist, with its dark, blue-black hue, typical of the Armorican subsoil, and Vitré sandstone, an ochre-pink sedimentary rock extracted from nearby quarries. Their alternation in the steps and risers creates a vigorous two-tone effect that bears witness to a deliberate aesthetic intention. This ornamental technique, found in many well-to-do homes in Vitré and neighbouring towns in Brittany, gives these staircases a strong and perfectly identifiable architectural identity.
Related Figures
Commanditaire anonyme du premier quart du XVIe siècle, vraisemblablement un marchand toilier vitréenMadame de Sévigné (1626-1696), épistolière célèbre résidant au château des Rochers-Sévigné, grande observatrice de la vie vitréenneProsper Mérimée (1803-1870), inspecteur général des Monuments Historiques, artisan de la politique de protection du patrimoine civil en FranceTailleur de pierre local (anonyme) auteur de l'escalier à vis bichromatique, maître artisan du début XVIe siècle
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Ancien Hôtel du Bât ou du Bol d'Or located?
Ancien Hôtel du Bât ou du Bol d'Or is located in Vitré, Département 35 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Ancien Hôtel du Bât ou du Bol d'Or built?
Ancien Hôtel du Bât ou du Bol d'Or dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Ancien Hôtel du Bât ou du Bol d'Or open to visitors?
Ancien Hôtel du Bât ou du Bol d'Or is currently closed to visitors.
