Vieille maison
MonumentHidden Treasure
Vieille maison, located in Locronan (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
- Locronan, Département 29, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.0984, -4.2087
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00090090
On the square in Locronan, one of the most beautiful villages in France, these 16th and 17th century Breton granite houses form a Renaissance ensemble of rare coherence, listed as a Historic Monument since 1925.
History
The Place de Locronan is one of the most beautiful squares in Brittany, and without doubt one of the best preserved in France. Lined with blue-grey granite Renaissance houses, it offers an architectural panorama of exceptional homogeneity, where the centuries seem to have stood still. La Vieille Maison, the name given to the group of buildings surrounding this emblematic square, bears witness to the prosperity of a cloth-making town at its height. What sets these 16th- and 17th-century residences apart is above all their stylistic coherence: built from the same local granite, topped with steeply pitched slate roofs, their façades are punctuated by mullioned windows, sculpted dormer windows and finely worked surrounds. The whole gives the square such perfect unity that it has been used as a natural backdrop for numerous film productions without the need for any set dressing. To visit Locronan is above all to stroll slowly along the irregular cobblestones, to look up at the elaborate cornices, to marvel at the details carved above the porches - a half-faded coat of arms, a late Gothic brace, a lintel engraved with a date. The communal well in the centre of the square heightens the sense of immutability, as if daily life in the past could still be going on here. Locronan is nestled in the heart of the Pays Glazik, between the sea and the Nevet forest, just a few kilometres from the Pointe du Raz and the Bay of Douarnenez. The changing, dramatic Breton light plays on the granite with particular intensity in the late afternoon, revealing the reliefs and textures of the façades with a precision that no amount of restoration can improve.
Architecture
The houses in Locronan square are part of a Breton architectural tradition dating from the end of the Renaissance, with persistent late Gothic influences. Built from Porzay granite - a warm grey local rock with bluish tints - they feature two- or three-storey facades punctuated by the cross-mullioned windows typical of the 16th century. Dormers with triangular or embrasured pediments, chamfered door surrounds and segmental-arched lintels bear witness to the mastery of stone-cutting. The steeply pitched roofs, covered in natural local slate, are punctuated by massive chimney stacks, a sign of the harshness of the Armorican winters but also of the affluence of the owners. Some houses still have remarkable sculptural details: anthropomorphic arches, crossettes, moulded jambs and, in some cases, coats of arms or merchants' monograms carved into the stone above the porches. The granite communal well, located in the centre of the square, completes the ensemble with a functional sobriety that contrasts elegantly with the ornamentation of the surrounding facades.
Related Figures
Marchands drapiers locronanais (XVIe-XVIIe siècles) — commanditaires des demeures et piliers de la prospérité toilièrePaul Gauguin — peintre ayant fréquenté la région de Pont-Aven et contribué à la renommée artistique de LocronanRené Couffon — historien de l'art breton ayant documenté le patrimoine architectural du FinistèreJean-René Coatanlem — figure du négoce breton symbolisant la classe marchande qui construisit ces demeuresGustave Flaubert — voyageur en Bretagne ayant évoqué les bourgs bretons préservés dans ses carnets de voyage
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Vieille maison located?
Vieille maison is located in Locronan, Département 29 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Vieille maison built?
Vieille maison dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Vieille maison open to visitors?
Vieille maison is currently closed to visitors.
