Immeuble
MonumentHidden Treasure
Immeuble, located in Saint-Malo (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
- Saint-Malo, Département 35, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.6512, -2.0254
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00090841
A survivor of the post-medieval reconstruction of Saint-Malo, this early 17th-century building still boasts some extremely rare period woodwork, a silent reminder of the golden age of Saint-Malo's privateers.
History
In the tightly woven network of narrow streets within the city of Saint-Malo, this building dating from the first half of the 17th century stands out as one of the rare examples of the great urban transformation that followed the destruction of Château Gaillard. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1955, it embodies the architectural memory of a city that reinvented itself stone by stone, between maritime trade and ocean racing. What makes this building truly unique is the persistence of its original joinery. Windows, door frames and woodwork dating from the early 17th century have survived four centuries of Malouin history - including the devastating bombardments of summer 1944 - to come down to us in remarkable condition. These elements, which are extremely rare in an urban fabric that has undergone so many changes, are an exceptional testimony to the craftsmanship of the period. The building has one ground floor and three upper floors, adopting the vertical silhouette typical of Malo trading houses, where the upper floors were used as warehouses or accommodation for crews and merchants. Just a stone's throw from the ramparts and the harbour, it evokes the atmosphere of a town turned towards the sea, distant trading posts and the fortunes built on Atlantic trade. To walk past this building is to grasp an authentic fragment of pre-war Saint-Malo - a town that the destruction of 1944 almost entirely erased. In an inner city largely rebuilt identically by Louis Arretche in the 1950s, the presence of this period building takes on an almost moving dimension for anyone familiar with the history of the corsair town.
Architecture
The vertical layout of the building is typical of Breton urban housing in the early 17th century: a ground floor used for commercial purposes or storage, topped by three storeys of living space. This high-rise layout, dictated by the density of Saint-Malo's intramural fabric and the value of land in the walled city, is typical of the trading houses of the period. The facades, probably made of granite from Brittany - the most important building material in Saint-Malo, extracted in particular from the Chausey islands - are carefully structured, reflecting the social status of its first owner. The building's most precious architectural feature is its woodwork, which has been preserved since the early 17th century. Wood-panelled windows, interior shutters, door frames and possibly interior decorative woodwork make up an extremely rare set of furnishings. The joinery, characteristic of the pre-classical French style, bears witness to masterful local craftsmanship, combining the robustness of the oak species with the sobriety of the moulded profiles. The layout of the openings on the facades reflects the sober rigour of Breton civil architecture of the period: regular openings with granite frames, without the decorative exuberance that you would find in the private mansions of the Loire Valley or Paris. This formal restraint is not austerity, but rather the expression of a regional identity that favours solidity and functionality - essential qualities in a town battered by the winds of the open sea.
Related Figures
Commanditaire inconnu (début XVIIe siècle) — probablement armateur ou négociant malouin ayant fait construire l'immeuble après la destruction du Château GaillardLouis Arretche (1905-1991) — architecte en chef chargé de la reconstruction de Saint-Malo après 1944, dont les travaux ont rendu encore plus précieux les rares bâtiments anciens ayant survécuJacques Cartier (1491-1557) — explorateur malouin dont l'époque de vie et d'activité illustre le contexte maritime qui a présidé à la naissance de ce type d'édifice dans la cité corsaireRené Duguay-Trouin (1673-1736) — corsaire malouin emblématique, contemporain de la période où l'immeuble est pleinement intégré dans le tissu urbain de la ville en plein essorRobert Surcouf (1773-1827) — figure légendaire de la course malouine, dont l'époque correspond à la maturité de l'édifice dans le tissu de l'intra-muros
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Immeuble located?
Immeuble is located in Saint-Malo, Département 35 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Immeuble built?
Immeuble dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Immeuble open to visitors?
Immeuble is currently closed to visitors.
