Fontaine dite la Pompe, ou fontaine la Plomée
MonumentHidden Treasure
Fontaine dite la Pompe, ou fontaine la Plomée, located in Guingamp (Département 22), 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
- Guingamp, Département 22, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.5619, -3.1518
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00089180
A flamboyant Gothic jewel in the heart of Guingamp, the La Plomée fountain features three tiered basins adorned with bronze Virgins, a listed Marian devotional monument since 1902.
History
At the heart of Guingamp's Place du Centre, the fountain known as La Pompe - or La Plomée fountain - stands out as one of the most unusual monuments in late medieval Brittany. Built in the 16th century and remodelled in the 18th, it combines Breton ashlar and bronze with rare elegance, in a vertical composition of three levels of basins that defies the usual conventions of monumental fountains of the period. What makes La Plomée truly unique is the presence of statues of the Virgin Mary at each level of the shaft, transforming this utilitarian watering place into a veritable monument to popular devotion. Medieval and Renaissance Brittany had a fervent relationship with the Marian cult, and Guingamp, a renowned pilgrimage town, is a perfect illustration of this. The fountain is not just a water feature: it reflects a collective piety rooted in stone and metal. To visit La Plomée is to immerse yourself in the daily life of a prosperous Breton town, where the fountain punctuated the comings and goings of the inhabitants, merchants and pilgrims who flocked to the town during the pardons. The Place du Centre, surrounded by half-timbered houses and Renaissance facades, forms a strikingly coherent architectural setting that amplifies the visual impact of the monument. It's an ideal place to visit at any time of day, but it's at dusk, when the public lighting highlights the relief of the basins and makes the bronze of the Virgins shimmer, that La Plomée reveals all its melancholy majesty. Listed as a historic monument since 1902 - one of the first buildings of this type to benefit from such protection in France - the fountain bears witness to an early determination to safeguard this hydraulic and devotional heritage so special to Brittany.
Architecture
The La Plomée fountain features a vertical composition of three tiered basins, typical of the great Breton monumental fountains of the 16th century. The central shaft, carved from finely-worked limestone, rises in a succession of ornamented segments reminiscent of the pinnacles and hooks of the flamboyant Gothic style still in vogue in the Duchy of Brittany at the time of its initial construction. Each level of basin has a diameter that decreases towards the top, creating a pyramidal profile of great visual stability. The most remarkable feature is the cast bronze statues of the Virgin Mary, positioned centrally on the monument. The use of bronze - a precious material that is resistant to the Atlantic weather - reflects the ambition of those who commissioned it, and places La Plomée in the category of prestigious fountains of its time. The slightly curved bowls with their moulded edges bear witness to the mastery of craftsmanship inherited from the great Breton lapidary traditions. Eighteenth-century alterations added a few classicising touches, visible in the profiles of some of the mouldings and in the increased regularity of the proportions, without breaking with the Gothic spirit of the whole. The natural polychromy of the materials - the warm hue of the Breton stone, the verdigris of the bronze, the sparkle of the water - gives the fountain a particularly seductive chromatic presence under the changing light of the Breton sky.
Related Figures
Ducs de Bretagne (commanditaires probables de l'embellissement de la place centrale au XVIe siècle)Artisans lapidaires guingampais du XVIe siècle (maîtres d'œuvre de la construction)Fondeurs en bronze bretons (auteurs des statues mariales)Architectes municipaux de Guingamp au XVIIIe siècle (campagne de restauration)Prosper Mérimée (inspecteur général des monuments historiques, dont l'œuvre de recensement a contribué à la protection de monuments comme La Plomée)
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Fontaine dite la Pompe, ou fontaine la Plomée located?
Fontaine dite la Pompe, ou fontaine la Plomée is located in Guingamp, Département 22 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Fontaine dite la Pompe, ou fontaine la Plomée built?
Fontaine dite la Pompe, ou fontaine la Plomée dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Fontaine dite la Pompe, ou fontaine la Plomée open to visitors?
Fontaine dite la Pompe, ou fontaine la Plomée is currently closed to visitors.
