Maison de retraite du Bourgneuf
MonumentHidden Treasure
Maison de retraite du Bourgneuf, located in Quimperlé (Département 29), 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
- Quimperlé, Département 29, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.8695, -3.5439
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00090384
In the heart of Quimperlé, this listed 15th-century medieval house reveals the secrets of Breton civil architecture, with its granite corbels and exceptional mullioned windows.
History
Nestling in the cobbled streets of Quimperlé, a medieval town in southern Brittany nestling at the confluence of the Isole and Ellé rivers, the Maison du Bourgneuf is one of the most eloquent examples of late medieval Breton civil architecture. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1932, it is one of a rare group of urban dwellings to have survived five centuries without losing much of their substance. What makes this house truly unique is the quality of its architectural execution at a time when Quimperlé was a major commercial and religious centre, thanks in particular to its Saint-Croix abbey. The Breton masons and carpenters of the 15th century combined local granite, the austere and durable rock that shapes the identity of the whole of Cornouaille, with an ornamental approach that betrayed the affluence of its patrons. To visit the Maison du Bourgneuf is to immerse yourself in the intimacy of a prosperous trading town, when clothiers and salt merchants built their homes in the shadow of the church steeples. The building, which for a long time provided a home and care for the community, bears within its walls the successive strata of an intense community life, each generation having left its discreet mark. The Bourgneuf district itself, whose name evokes the medieval "new market towns", suburbs created outside the original walls to accommodate the demographic and commercial boom, offers an incomparable setting in which to wander. Half-timbered facades, discreet courtyards and the murmur of the surrounding rivers make this one of the most unspoilt parts of the town in Finistère.
Architecture
The Maison du Bourgneuf belongs to the large family of Breton medieval urban houses characterised by the massive use of Cornouaille granite, a material that is both constraining and durable. Built in accordance with 15th-century building practices, it probably has two or three storeys, with a ground floor that was once used for commercial or craft activities and upper storeys reserved for living quarters. The façade, facing the street, is punctuated by mullioned windows with carved granite transoms, whose prismatic mouldings bear witness to the care taken with the decoration. One of the most distinctive features of this architecture is the use of corbels and sculpted eaves, recurring motifs in Breton bourgeois houses from this period. The corners may be marked by engaged columns or sculpted corner posts, a legacy of a carpentry tradition adapted to stone. The roof, with its steep slope in keeping with the climate of the Finistère region, was covered in slate, the dominant roofing material throughout Lower Brittany. The interior probably retains some medieval carpentry and masonry features: monumental fireplaces with straight or embattled lintels, cross vaults in the lower rooms, granite spiral staircases serving the upper floors. The whole ensemble is a coherent and rare example of what life might have been like for a prominent Quimper resident at the dawn of the Renaissance, before Italian influences transformed the Breton decorative repertoire.
Related Figures
Commanditaire anonyme du XVe siècle, marchand ou notable de QuimperléAbbés de Saint-Croix de Quimperlé, figures tutélaires du développement urbain médiévalInspecteurs des Monuments Historiques (années 1930), artisans de la protection officielleArtisans maçons et charpentiers bretons du XVe siècle, bâtisseurs anonymes de la demeure
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Maison de retraite du Bourgneuf located?
Maison de retraite du Bourgneuf is located in Quimperlé, Département 29 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Maison de retraite du Bourgneuf built?
Maison de retraite du Bourgneuf dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Maison de retraite du Bourgneuf open to visitors?
Maison de retraite du Bourgneuf is currently closed to visitors.