Château de Lesturgant
CastleHidden Treasure
Château de Lesturgant, located in Malguénac (Département 56), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- Castle
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Malguénac, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.0888, -3.0363
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00091429
In the heart of Morbihan, Château de Lesturgant boasts a sixty-metre Louis XIII terrace flanked by a hexagonal dovecote dating from 1697 with a spherical vault - a Renaissance ensemble of rare elegance in inland Brittany.
History
Nestling in the gentle wooded hills of Malguénac, on the edge of inland Brittany, Château de Lesturgant is a singularly coherent piece of architecture. Far from the medieval fortresses of the Armorican coastline, it embodies the gentle aristocracy of the late Renaissance and early Classical periods, where granite stone bends elegantly to the demands of comfort and decor. Visitors are immediately struck by the monumental terrace, built around 1570: a suspended walkway some sixty metres long, linked to the ground by two straight flights of steps at either end. The continuous balustrade running from one end to the other gives this space a very French gravity, evoking the great terraced garden compositions that Italian influence was spreading throughout the kingdom's stately homes at the time. But it is undoubtedly the dovecote that is the most stunning feature of the ensemble. Built in 1697 in the very extension of the terrace, at the entrance to the former château, this hexagonal ashlar structure bears witness to exceptional architectural skill and constructive sophistication. With its roof of granite slabs laid in redents, its spherical vaulted ceiling open at the top and crowned with a polygonal lantern, and the central wooden pivot used to turn the interior ladder, every detail reveals the ambition of a seigniorial commission concerned with combining utility and beauty. The visitor experience is as much about the architecture as it is about the landscape. The terrace offers a soothing view of the surrounding foliage, and as you walk along the balustrade, you can imagine the walks taken by the Breton aristocracy under the Ancien Régime. The dovecote, meanwhile, holds a surprise inside: the light falling from the central zenithal daylight creates the effect of a miniature cathedral, bathing in diffuse light the stone niches where the seigneurial doves once nested. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1944, Lesturgant remains one of those discreet jewels of Breton heritage that rewards the curious off the beaten track.
Architecture
The architecture of Lesturgant is divided into two coherent phases. The château itself, in the style of Louis XIII, displays the usual characteristics of Breton seigneurial architecture of the late Renaissance: sober lines, dominant use of granite ashlar, steeply pitched roofs and symmetrical composition of the facades. The large terrace built in 1570, which precedes or accompanies this phase, forms the landscape backbone of the complex: around sixty metres long, it is served at each end by a straight flight of steps and surrounded by a continuous balustrade that emphasises its majestic horizontality. This way of presenting the château from below is typical of the prestige architecture of the French Renaissance. From an architectural point of view, the 1697 dovecote is the most remarkable feature of the estate. Hexagonal in plan - a rare form in the French dovecote tradition, where the circular or square plan is much more common - it is built entirely of ashlar, dressed with obvious care. Its roof is a technical tour de force: the granite slabs are laid in a redentation pattern, i.e. in superimposed tiers forming successive projections, a process typical of the Breton building tradition and particularly well-suited to waterproofing slopes in wet climates. Inside, the spherical vaulting opens onto the sky through an oculus at the top, creating dramatic zenithal lighting; this opening is crowned on the outside by a polygonal lantern. The central wooden pivot, a mechanical device used to turn a mobile ladder around the axis of the building to gain access to all the nesting niches, is a rare example of dovecote interior furniture that has been preserved in situ.
Related Figures
Seigneurs de Lesturgant (XVIe siècle) — commanditaires de la terrasse et du château Renaissance, issus de la noblesse morbihannaiseCommanditaire du pigeonnier (1697) — seigneur inconnu ayant fait édifier l'édifice hexagonal, expression ultime du prestige nobiliaire sous Louis XIVInspecteurs des Monuments Historiques (1944) — responsables de l'inscription au patrimoine protégé en pleine Libération
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Château de Lesturgant located?
Château de Lesturgant is located in Malguénac, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Château de Lesturgant built?
Château de Lesturgant dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Château de Lesturgant open to visitors?
Château de Lesturgant is currently closed to visitors.