Chapelle de la Houssaye
MonumentHidden Treasure
Chapelle de la Houssaye, located in Pontivy (Département 56), 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
- Pontivy, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.0466, -2.9497
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00091566
Nestling in Pontivy, the chapel of La Houssaye reveals two centuries of Breton architecture: a rare medieval rood screen and a striking dialogue between two chapels united under the same gable.
History
In the heart of Morbihan, in Pontivy, the chapel of la Houssaye stands out as one of those discreet buildings that conceal an extraordinary historical and architectural density. Built in two major campaigns between the 16th and 17th centuries, it offers a fascinating insight into the development of late Breton Gothic architecture, in a region where popular faith has long shaped the stone landscape. What makes La Houssaye truly unique is the coexistence of two distinct liturgical spaces, separated by a rood screen that has survived the centuries. This type of device, which once separated the choir reserved for the clergy from the nave open to the faithful, has become extremely rare in Breton heritage: most rood screens were dismantled during the post-Tridentine reforms or the Revolution. Here, its survival provides irreplaceable evidence of the liturgy of the Ancien Régime. The visitor experience oscillates between contemplation and architectural contemplation. You first enter the sixteenth-century nave, flanked by two vaulted aisles that play with light and shadow, before symbolically crossing the rood screen into the seventeenth-century western annex - a more austere space, imbued with an almost intimate spirituality. The transition between the two chapels, marked on the outside by a gable crowned by a small openwork bell tower, offers the attentive visitor a glimpse into two centuries of religious practice. The Pontivy setting adds to the interest of the visit: Pontivy, former city of the Rohan family and Napoleonic town, boasts a remarkable heritage. The chapel at La Houssaye, listed as a Historic Monument since 1935, fits into this heritage fabric as an intimate jewel, far removed from the monumentality of the nearby Château des Rohan, but with a historical depth that will captivate the cultured visitor.
Architecture
La Houssaye chapel is a late Breton Gothic building, with the inflections typical of Morbihan religious architecture in the 16th and 17th centuries. The general plan features a nave flanked by two vaulted aisles on the east side - the oldest part - a transept giving the whole a legible Latin cross, and a square-ended apse, in keeping with the regional building tradition that favours this sober geometric design over polygonal or round apses. The 17th-century western annex has a more restrained architectural language, with less pronounced mouldings, reflecting the evolution in taste towards post-medieval sobriety. The junction between the two campaigns is marked, both inside and out, by a remarkable feature: the rood screen, of which only the stone enclosure remains, separates the two chapels and forms the focal point of the building. On the outside, a gable rises above this dividing arch, crowned by a small bell tower with a delicate openwork silhouette, giving the whole a picturesque, punctuated verticality. The materials used are typical of Breton construction: local granite dominates, imposing its grey hue and rough texture on the façades. The aisle vaults, probably barrel vaults or simple rib vaults, bear witness to the solid technical mastery of the local builders. Despite its modest size, the building's spatial coherence and the quality of its construction more than justify its protection as a Historic Monument.
Related Figures
Seigneurs de Rohan — puissante famille noble pontivyenne ayant façonné le contexte de la construction des chapelles péri-urbaines de la régionConstructeurs maçons bretons du XVIe siècle — artisans anonymes responsables de la première campagne de construction et des voûtes des bas-côtésCommanditaires du XVIIe siècle — famille noble ou confrérie locale à l'origine de l'annexe occidentale et de la consolidation du jubéArchitecte des Bâtiments de France (années 1930) — expert ayant instruit le dossier d'inscription aux Monuments Historiques en 1935
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Chapelle de la Houssaye located?
Chapelle de la Houssaye is located in Pontivy, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Chapelle de la Houssaye built?
Chapelle de la Houssaye dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Chapelle de la Houssaye open to visitors?
Chapelle de la Houssaye is currently closed to visitors.