Maison de la Duchesse Anne
MonumentHidden Treasure
Maison de la Duchesse Anne, 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
- 48.6510, -2.0254
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00090820
A flamboyant Gothic jewel nestling in the ramparts of Saint-Malo, the machicolated turret of the House of Duchess Anne is a stone reminder of the great Breton sovereign of the 15th century.
History
In the heart of Saint-Malo's inner city, wedged between the ramparts and the granite streets, the Maison de la Duchesse Anne is one of the most eloquent survivors of flamboyant Gothic civil architecture in Brittany. Its recognisable silhouette - a staircase turret that changes from round to octagonal, crowned with machicolations - makes it an unforgettable visual landmark in the urban landscape of the corsair town. What makes this monument truly singular is the superimposition of its temporalities. The house stands on the site of the former Château-Gaillard malouïn, demolished in 1573, and its architecture may conceal vestiges of this vanished fortress in its lowest foundations. To look at the building is to see a medieval geography that has now been swallowed up by the rebuilt town. The visit is inseparable from the stroll through the cobbled streets of the inner city. The house is revealed at the turn of an alleyway, and you take the time to detail its sculpted window sills, its archivolt and the chiselled details of its turret. Although partially damaged by fire in 1944, the building retains a remarkable architectural presence that bears witness to the care taken in the construction of Breton bourgeois and seigneurial residences in the late Middle Ages. The setting is even more impressive: just a stone's throw from the ramparts that you can walk along, facing the Atlantic, the house is part of a rare urban ensemble, that of a walled town whose medieval soul shines through despite the almost total reconstruction imposed by the bombings of the Second World War. For heritage lovers and photographers alike, the angle of the turret offers one of the most evocative images of Saint-Malo.
Architecture
The architecture of the Maison de la Duchesse Anne is in the style of civil flamboyant Gothic, as practised in Brittany at the end of the 15th century. The façade features a window with a chamfered lintel surmounted by an archivolt in the form of an accolade - an emblematic motif of late Gothic architecture - and several finely sculpted window sills, whose reliefs bear witness to the high quality of the stonework. These decorative elements, although partially altered by time and the fire of 1944, retain an expressiveness that immediately catches the eye. The most spectacular feature of the building is the stair turret, set into the side of the façade. Circular at the base, it takes on an octagonal shape at the top, a formal transition found in several Breton civil and military buildings from the same period. The turret is topped with machicolations, a defensive element inherited from military architecture, here more ornamental than functional, reminding us of the residence's close links with the fortified town wall. The lower part of the complex is thought to be older than the upper part, suggesting a two-stage construction or the re-use of masonry from the original Château-Gaillard. The materials used are those of the Malouin building tradition: local granite, robust and austere, which gives the building its characteristic mineral character. The building fits perfectly into the dense fabric of the inner city, its compact volume and assertive verticality responding to the constraints of a fortified urban space where every square metre is precious.
Related Figures
Anne de Bretagne (1477-1514) — duchesse de Bretagne et deux fois reine de France, dont le nom est attaché par la tradition à cette demeureCatherine de Médicis (1519-1589) — reine mère de France, qui aurait séjourné dans la maison en 1570Louis Arretche (1905-1991) — architecte en chef de la reconstruction de Saint-Malo après 1944, dont le travail forma le cadre dans lequel la maison subsista comme témoin authentique
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Maison de la Duchesse Anne located?
Maison de la Duchesse Anne is located in Saint-Malo, Département 35 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Maison de la Duchesse Anne built?
Maison de la Duchesse Anne dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Maison de la Duchesse Anne open to visitors?
Maison de la Duchesse Anne is currently closed to visitors.