Manoir du 16e siècle
ManorHidden Treasure
Manoir du 16e siècle, located in Priziac (Département 56), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- Manor
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Priziac, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.0606, -3.4095
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00091593
In the heart of Morbihan, this 16th-century Renaissance manor house boasts a striking round-arched porch and a courtyard façade adorned with a shell pediment - a discreet jewel of inland Brittany.
History
Nestling in the market town of Priziac, in the heart of inland Brittany, this 16th-century manor house is one of those buildings that gradually reveals itself, hiding its grace behind an austere street façade. The large round-arched window that once served as the carriage entrance intrigues passers-by: it heralds a world apart, that of a Breton seigneurial residence with sober but select architecture. Passing through this entrance, you enter an inner courtyard where the main façade reveals its character. The single flight staircase, the landing covered by an overhanging roof supported by two granite pillars, and above all the window adorned with a pediment and shell-vase: all details that betray the decorative ambition of its patron, anxious to show off his success in this remote corner of the Quimperlé region. The building is a perfect illustration of the type of rural manor house built in Brittany during the Renaissance period, when local ashlar became the material of choice over the cob and shale used in popular buildings. Here, the overall sobriety of the building contrasts with the preciousness of a few selected ornamental elements, in a spirit of measured ostentation typical of the small provincial nobility. The interior layout, with a ground floor devoted to agricultural activities - stable and shed - and an upper floor reserved for living quarters, bears witness to the versatility typical of rural seigneurial residences under the Ancien Régime. This manor house was not a stately home, but the nerve centre of a farm, combining daily life with the management of the estate. Now listed as a Historic Monument since 1925, Priziac Manor is well worth a visit for any traveller plying the roads of inland Morbihan to discover a little-known heritage, far from the crowds, where every stone tells the silent story of a Brittany that was both peasant and noble.
Architecture
The Priziac manor house is built of ashlar, probably local granite, a material that is ubiquitous in historic buildings in Morbihan. The building has two very different facades: an austere, defensive street facade with a large semi-circular bay - a former carriage entrance - flanked by a more modest pedestrian entrance, and a more open, ornate main courtyard facade, revealing the residential character of the site. The composition of the courtyard façade follows a careful axial logic: in line with the entrance porch, a first-floor window is surmounted by a tripartite decorative ensemble combining pediments, shells and vases, motifs characteristic of the late Renaissance vocabulary as adapted by Breton workshops in the second half of the 16th century. The first floor is accessed via a single-flight external staircase, the landing of which is protected by an overhanging roof resting on two carved granite pillars, a functional and elegant arrangement reminiscent of the external staircases found in the stately homes of the region. The interior layout, with a ground floor used for agricultural purposes - a stable and a shed - and an upper floor for living quarters, is typical of Breton rural manor houses from this period, where the lord's residence was organically integrated into the farm it ran. The window on the first floor facing the street, which has no mullion, appears to be the result of a later modification, as mullioned windows were the norm for ceremonial openings in this period.
Related Figures
Seigneur bâtisseur anonyme du XVIe siècle, commanditaire du manoir et probablement issu de la petite noblesse du pays de QuimperléConservateurs régionaux des Monuments Historiques du début du XXe siècle, artisans de l'inscription au patrimoine en 1925Familles nobles bretonnes de Priziac, détentrices de droits seigneuriaux dans le Morbihan intérieur sous l'Ancien Régime
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Manoir du 16e siècle located?
Manoir du 16e siècle is located in Priziac, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Manoir du 16e siècle built?
Manoir du 16e siècle dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Manoir du 16e siècle open to visitors?
Manoir du 16e siècle is currently closed to visitors.