Vieilles maisons
MonumentHidden Treasure
Vieilles maisons, located in Josselin (Département 56), 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
- Josselin, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.9546, -2.5477
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00091319
Au cœur de Josselin, ces maisons du XVIe siècle déploient leurs façades à pans de bois sculptés, témoignages rares de l'architecture civile bretonne de la Renaissance, classées depuis 1931.
History
Nestling in the medieval streets of Josselin, a small town in Morbihan dominated by the famous Château des Rohan, the "Old Houses" are one of the best-preserved examples of civil architecture in inland Brittany. Built in the 16th century, they bear witness to the prosperity of a market town driven by the cloth trade and pilgrimages to the Notre-Dame-du-Roncier basilica, which attracted thousands of worshippers from all over the Armorican peninsula every year. What makes these houses truly unique is the quality of their exposed carpentry. The timber framing, characteristic of urban housing in Brittany during the Renaissance, is treated here with rare ornamental care: the runners, brackets and brackets feature sculpted motifs - interlacing, grotesque faces, stylised foliage - revealing the hand of local carpenters well-versed in the influences of the French Renaissance, while remaining rooted in a late Celtic and Gothic craft tradition. Successive corbels project each floor above the street, creating the play of volumes so characteristic of old Breton towns. The visitor experience is first and foremost a sensory immersion in a miraculously intact 16th-century urban fabric. Walking along these facades, visitors can see the logic of a narrow, dense plot of land, inherited from the Middle Ages, when every foot of land counted. The patina of the wood, the unevenness of the local granite window sills and the play of shadows cast by the corbels create a natural architectural scenography, particularly photogenic in the golden hours of the morning. The setting in Josselin amplifies the emotion of the heritage: just a few steps away, the Nantes-Brest canal reflects the medieval silhouettes, and the imposing mass of the Château des Rohan, with its Renaissance towers and dormer windows, forms a striking backdrop. These old houses form part of a coherent urban ensemble that makes Josselin one of Brittany's most endearing and historically rich villages.
Architecture
The old houses of Josselin belong to the tradition of Breton half-timbered architecture, the most accomplished expressions of which can be found in the towns of inland Brittany - Josselin, Malestroit, Rochefort-en-Terre - away from the main roads that could have accelerated their demolition. The load-bearing structure is provided by a framework of oak, a species abundant in the forests of Morbihan, whose key components - corner posts, top and bottom runners, struts - form a geometric framework that is punctuated by wattle and daub or brick infill. The most spectacular feature is the corbelling: each storey projects slightly over the street, supported by consoles and brackets carved into the mass, often decorated with figures, fantastical animals or plant motifs in bas-relief. The windows, with wooden mullions in their original state, are framed with mouldings that betray a discreet Renaissance influence, while the gables facing the street, sometimes hipped with flat tiles or slates, harmoniously close off the vertical composition. The ground floor, traditionally given over to shops or craft trades, opens onto the street through wide bays whose local granite thresholds contrast in density with the apparent lightness of the overlying carpentry. The whole forms a subtle dialogue between Breton constructional rigour and the ornamental fantasy of the provincial Renaissance.
Related Figures
Josselin de Rohan — seigneur fondateur de la ville au XIe siècle, dont le nom est intimement lié au destin urbain de JosselinOlivier de Clisson — connétable de France et seigneur de Josselin au XIVe siècle, dont l'influence sur le bourg prépare l'essor du XVIe siècleJean II de Rohan — seigneur du XVIe siècle sous lequel la ville connaît son apogée architecturale civileArtisans charpentiers morbihannais du XVIe siècle — bâtisseurs anonymes de ces façades sculptées, héritiers d'une longue tradition de charpenterie ornementale bretonneProsper Mérimée — inspecteur général des Monuments historiques qui, dans la lignée de son action nationale, contribue à sensibiliser les pouvoirs publics à la protection du patrimoine civil breton
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Vieilles maisons located?
Vieilles maisons is located in Josselin, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Vieilles maisons built?
Vieilles maisons dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Vieilles maisons open to visitors?
Vieilles maisons is currently closed to visitors.
