Maison de Cruguel
MonumentHidden Treasure
Maison de Cruguel, located in Cruguel (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
- Cruguel, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.8791, -2.5963
- Mérimée Reference
- PA56000002
In the heart of the village of Cruguel, this house dating from 1645 still retains the sober charm of 17th-century Breton rural architecture, with its spiral staircase turret and rows of bolts on the façade.
History
Standing in the central square of Cruguel, a modest market town in the Morbihan region of Brittany, this house dating from the second quarter of the 17th century is a precious example of rural civil architecture in Brittany during the reign of Louis XIII. Neither an ostentatious manor house nor a simple thatched cottage, it embodies the intermediate category of bourgeois village dwellings that structured the social and economic life of inland Brittany, and of which so many examples have disappeared over the centuries. What immediately distinguishes this house is the presence of two rows of bolts in the main south-facing façade. These niches, originally intended to house pigeons or doves, once signalled the social status of their owner: the right to a dovecote was a jealously guarded privilege under the Ancien Régime. Their presence on a village façade testifies to the affluence and rank of the family who had the building constructed in the middle of the 17th century. At the rear of the building, a slightly projecting turret houses a spiral staircase, a typical feature of Breton architecture from this period. This device, inherited from the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, enabled the floors to be served with economy of space, while adding a discreet note of elegance to the whole. The sober ornamentation of the building does not exclude a certain formal research, typical of the provincial taste of the period. To visit this house is above all to immerse yourself in the tranquillity of an unspoilt Breton village, far from the beaten tourist track. The square in Cruguel, which overlooks the main façade, offers an intimate setting where time seems to stand still. The building, which has been protected as a Historic Monument since 1996, blends into the hedged farmland of inland Morbihan, with its oak forests and golden moors.
Architecture
With its elongated rectangular floor plan, the house in Cruguel is in the tradition of 17th-century Breton town houses, combining functionality with sober ornamentation. The main facade, which faces south to maximise sunlight - an essential precaution in Brittany's climate - is punctuated by two rows of boulins, hollow openings used to house pigeons. This element, which is both utilitarian and symbolic, gives the façade a distinctive texture, playing on the effects of light and shadow in the local stone, probably granite or schist typical of the inland Morbihan region. The most striking architectural feature is the spiral staircase turret, projecting slightly from the rear of the building. This feature, inherited from the late Gothic tradition and widely used in Brittany from the 15th to 17th centuries, provides access to the upper floors via an ashlar spiral staircase. The cylindrical shape of the turret contrasts with the linearity of the main body, creating a characteristic silhouette that can be found in manor houses and noble homes throughout the Armorican peninsula. The date 1645, engraved in relief above the lintel of the main entrance door, is both a mark of identity and a sober decorative element, in the vein of Breton epigraphy from the Grand Siècle.
Related Figures
Commanditaire inconnu (1645) — bourgeois ou officier local ayant fait construire la demeure, probablement titulaire d'un droit de colombierLouis XIV — roi de France au moment de la construction, dont le règne marque l'apogée de l'architecture classique françaiseInspecteurs des Monuments historiques (1996) — agents du patrimoine ayant instruit et obtenu l'inscription partielle de la maison
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Maison de Cruguel located?
Maison de Cruguel is located in Cruguel, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Maison de Cruguel built?
Maison de Cruguel dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Maison de Cruguel open to visitors?
Maison de Cruguel is currently closed to visitors.