Remparts de Ploërmel
FortressHidden Treasure
Remparts de Ploërmel, located in Ploërmel (Département 56), is a medieval landmark built in the Middle Ages. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- Fort
- Period
- Medieval (11th-15th century)
- Location
- Ploërmel, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00135280
Stone sentinels in the heart of medieval Brittany, the ramparts of Ploërmel - including the Thabors and Bembro towers - reveal ten centuries of Breton defensive strategy and ducal history.
History
In the heart of Ploërmel, the small capital of the Porhoët region, you can still see the last remnants of a medieval wall that once encircled two hectares of walled city and included a dozen watchtowers. What remains - the Thabors and Bembro towers, as well as the ramparts of the Place Sénéchal-Perret - form a fragmentary but moving whole, listed as a Historic Monument since 1995, which invites us to imagine the fortified city that Ploërmel was at the time of the Dukes of Brittany. What makes these remains so special is precisely the fact that they have survived through thick and thin: the wars of the 15th century, the construction fever of the 18th and 19th centuries, and modern urbanisation have all taken their toll on this defensive heritage. However, the two surviving towers still stand silhouetted in the urban fabric, offering the attentive walker a direct insight into the Brittany of the Dukes. The visitor experience is that of an everyday archaeology: the ramparts of the Place Sénéchal-Perret are part of a living public space, where centuries-old stone rubs shoulders with the activities of the contemporary city. Far from the great castles that have been restored with great fanfare, these ruins speak with raw authenticity, without artifice. Lovers of military history and photographers alike will appreciate the textural richness of the weathered rubble and the way the grazing evening light reveals the medieval foundations. Ploërmel, a crossroads between Rennes, Vannes and Josselin, offers a rich heritage: the church of Saint-Armel, the Lac au Duc and the memory of the famous Combat des Trente (1351) make this stopover a focal point for anyone interested in historic Brittany. The ramparts are an essential part of any tour of medieval Brittany.
Architecture
Ploërmel's medieval town wall was of the Romanesque-Gothic type, typical of Breton towns in the 11th and 12th centuries. Designed to enclose a perimeter of around two hectares, it was built around a curtain wall punctuated by around ten flanking towers, probably semi-circular or canted in accordance with the Breton custom of the time, enabling blind spots to be swept away and defensive fire to be crossed. The materials used were probably local schist and granite, ubiquitous in the military architecture of medieval Morbihan, assembled in rubble with ashlar quoins. The two surviving towers offer precious architectural evidence. The Tour des Thabors and the Tour de Bembro both feature medieval granite rubble masonry, with thick facings typical of military architecture, designed to absorb the impact of siege projectiles. Their circular or polygonal plan, now partially altered, reveals the successive transformations they have undergone over the centuries. The medieval foundations of the ramparts around Place Sénéchal-Perret are still legible, despite the subsequent alterations and additions that have "disfigured" the whole, according to the heritage authorities. In its original state, the enclosure would have had covered walkways, archères and perhaps wooden hoardings to defend the top of the curtain walls. Although these features have disappeared, the massive silhouette of the remaining towers still evokes the robustness of an architecture designed to discourage attackers as much as to impress the inhabitants.
Related Figures
Eudes II — comte de Blois, dont les conflits avec le duc Conan entraînèrent la destruction de la première enceinte au XIe siècleConan II — duc de Bretagne, adversaire d'Eudes II et acteur des destructions de la première fortificationGeoffroy II Plantagenêt — duc de Bretagne (1169-1186), commanditaire de la reconstruction et de l'amplification des rempartsConstance de Bretagne — duchesse, épouse de Geoffroy II, dont le règne consolida les défenses de PloërmelJean de Beaumanoir — chevalier breton, organisateur du Combat des Trente (1351) depuis Ploërmel, emblème des combats qui usèrent les muraillesBertrand du Guesclin — connétable de France ayant opéré dans la région lors de la guerre de Succession de Bretagne, contexte qui fragilisa les remparts
Map
Coordinates not available for this monument.
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Remparts de Ploërmel located?
Remparts de Ploërmel is located in Ploërmel, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Remparts de Ploërmel built?
Remparts de Ploërmel dates back to a period built in the Middle Ages (11th-15th century).
Is Remparts de Ploërmel open to visitors?
Remparts de Ploërmel is currently closed to visitors.