Manoir de Moëllien
ManorHidden Treasure
Manoir de Moëllien, located in Plonévez-Porzay (Département 29), 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
- Plonévez-Porzay, Département 29, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.1123, -4.2336
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00090204
Joyau Renaissance breton du XVIe siècle, le manoir de Moëllien séduit par sa porte à colonnes doriques et son fronton triangulaire d'une élégance rare, témoignage exceptionnel de l'art de bâtir dans le Finistère.
History
Nestling in the Finistère bocage of Plonévez-Porzay, Moëllien Manor is one of the best-preserved Renaissance buildings in the Bigouden region. Its composed silhouette, combining a square-shaped main building, a corner tower and an elaborate gallery, reveals an uncommon architectural ambition for a 16th-century Breton rural manor house. There is no unnecessary grandiloquence here, just a controlled elegance that bears witness to an enlightened patron, attentive to the fashions coming out of Italy and relayed by the great royal worksites along the Loire. What really sets Moëllien apart from other buildings in the region is the quality of its architectural decoration. The entrance door to the second main building, framed by two Doric columns topped by a perfectly proportioned triangular pediment, is a masterpiece of the Breton Renaissance. It reflects the direct influence of the Vitruvian treatise as disseminated by the Fontainebleau school, sensitively adapted to local tastes and materials. The tower adjoining the main dwelling adds to the charm of the ensemble: topped by an attic supported by a cornice with modillions, it is enlivened by circular pediment dormers that play with the low-angled light of Breton afternoons. The attentive traveller will note the remarkable coherence of the whole, conceived and executed with the same creative élan, without the successive alterations that blur the reading of so many other manor houses in the region. A visit to Moëllien is like taking a timeless break in an unspoilt setting, away from the beaten tourist track. The building, listed as a Historic Monument since 1931, bears witness to an aristocratic and literate Brittany, open to the great ideas of its century, without denying its attachment to the stones and landscapes of its land. A discreet monument, but with a historical and artistic density that more than rewards the diversions.
Architecture
The Moëllien manor house comprises two main buildings arranged at right-angles to each other, a common feature of 16th-century Breton seigneurial architecture, enabling an inner courtyard to be defined while ensuring a clear hierarchy between performance spaces and domestic areas. The elevations are executed in local granite with bluish-grey highlights, a ubiquitous material in Finistère, cut here with particular care for the decorative elements. The most remarkable feature of the ensemble is undoubtedly the entrance door to the second main building. Framed by two engaged Doric columns, it is surmounted by a triangular pediment of fine classical purity, demonstrating a precise knowledge of ancient orders. This design, directly inspired by the Italian Renaissance portals developed by the Fontainebleau school, is extremely rare in the rural architecture of Finistère. The careful treatment of the bases and capitals reveals the work of a highly skilled stonemason, trained in the new techniques of the time. The tower adjoining one of the main buildings is the second architectural highlight of the manor house. Its roof is supported by a generous, rhythmic modillion cornice, which forms an elegant transition between the verticality of the tower and the roof. The circular pediment dormers piercing the roof add a touch of clever fantasy to the whole, combining antique motifs and Breton building traditions in a harmonious dialogue characteristic of French provincial mannerism.
Related Figures
Famille noble cornouaillaise commanditaire du manoir au XVIe siècleMaître tailleur de pierre anonyme, auteur du portail doriqueInspecteurs des Monuments Historiques ayant instruit la protection de 1931François Ier, dont le mécénat royal diffusa la Renaissance en province bretonnePropriétaires successifs ayant veillé à la conservation de l'édifice
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Manoir de Moëllien located?
Manoir de Moëllien is located in Plonévez-Porzay, Département 29 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Manoir de Moëllien built?
Manoir de Moëllien dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Manoir de Moëllien open to visitors?
Manoir de Moëllien is currently closed to visitors.
