Maison natale de Surcouf, ou hôtel de la Bertaudière
MonumentHidden Treasure
Maison natale de Surcouf, ou hôtel de la Bertaudière, 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
- 48.6504, -2.0274
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00090822
Dans le cœur historique de Saint-Malo, la maison natale de Robert Surcouf, le célèbre corsaire malouin, incarne trois siècles d'histoire maritime et d'architecture granite bretonne du XVIIe siècle.
History
In the heart of Saint-Malo's inner city, between cobbled streets and ramparts battered by the Channel winds, stands the Hôtel de la Bertaudière, better known as Robert Surcouf's birthplace. This handsome seventeenth-century building belongs to the great tradition of Saint-Malo's bourgeois and merchant mansions, built for prosperous families whose fortunes were made on the distant seas - trading in India, racing and shipping. What sets this house apart from so many other historic French residences is its dual status: as a remarkably well-preserved monument of Breton civil architecture, and as the setting for a living memory, that of the most famous privateer of the Napoleonic era. Surcouf may only have been born here one night in 1773, but the granite stone still bears the imprint of this line of daring sailors who made Saint-Malo the capital of ocean racing. The visit begins as soon as you enter the street: the sober, powerful façade, typically Malouine, commands respect. The solidity of the local granite, the mullioned windows and the Anjou slate roof give the building an elegant severity that the people of Saint-Malo call "character". There are no superfluous ornaments, just an architectural dignity that tells of the affluence of its first occupants. The surrounding area adds to the historical immersion: just a few steps away, the 15th-century ramparts, rebuilt after the bombings of 1944, encircle a town that has been reborn true to itself. The Maison de la Bertaudière fits naturally into this homogeneous urban landscape, where granite and slate have dictated the law for centuries, and where each façade seems to tell the story of a maritime adventure.
Architecture
The Hôtel de la Bertaudière is a perfect example of 17th-century Malouin domestic architecture, characterised by the exclusive use of bluish-grey granite quarried locally and from the surrounding islands. The sober, rhythmic façade features several bays of windows framed in finely dressed ashlar, in a vertical composition that gives the building a discreet, confident presence. The straight or lightly dressed lintels, projecting sills and alternating stone quoins bear witness to the care taken in the construction, despite the rigour of the regional style. The roof, covered in Anjou slate - the material of choice for the middle-class homes of Saint Malo - has a steep slope adapted to the winds and rain of the Brittany coast. Pedimented dormers, if they existed at all, were used to provide light for the attic space, an invaluable feature in these town houses, whose tight layout was dictated by the layout of the inner city. Inside, the layout typical of this type of residence is organised around a central corridor and a stone or wooden staircase with turned banisters leading to the different levels. The reception rooms on the ground and first floors would have had carved granite fireplaces, an element of comfort and prestige characteristic of hotels in Saint Malo at the time. The overall effect is one of austere elegance, far removed from the ornate splendour of the Loire châteaux, but perfectly in keeping with the powerful, determined character of the seafaring men who lived there.
Related Figures
Robert Surcouf (1773-1827) — corsaire malouin célèbre, né dans cette maisonFamille Surcouf — armateurs malouins, propriétaires de la demeure au XVIIIe siècleFamille de la Bertaudière — propriétaires ayant donné son premier nom à l'hôtel au XVIIe siècleDuguay-Trouin (1673-1736) — corsaire malouin contemporain du bâtiment, figure emblématique du même milieu socialRené Magon de la Villebague — armateur malouin, représentant du milieu marchand qui fit construire ce type de demeure
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Maison natale de Surcouf, ou hôtel de la Bertaudière located?
Maison natale de Surcouf, ou hôtel de la Bertaudière is located in Saint-Malo, Département 35 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Maison natale de Surcouf, ou hôtel de la Bertaudière built?
Maison natale de Surcouf, ou hôtel de la Bertaudière dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Maison natale de Surcouf, ou hôtel de la Bertaudière open to visitors?
Maison natale de Surcouf, ou hôtel de la Bertaudière is currently closed to visitors.
