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Castle of Kergounadeach à Cléder dans le Finistère

Patrimoine classé
Patrimoine défensif
Demeure seigneuriale
Château Médiéval et Renaissance
Finistère

Castle of Kergounadeach

    Le Bourg
    29233 Cléder
Château de Kergounadeach
Château de Kergounadeach
Château de Kergounadeach
Château de Kergounadeach
Château de Kergounadeach
Château de Kergounadeach
Château de Kergounadeach
Château de Kergounadeach
Château de Kergounadeach
Château de Kergounadeach
Château de Kergounadeach
Château de Kergounadeach
Château de Kergounadeach
Château de Kergounadeach
Château de Kergounadeach
Château de Kergounadeach
Château de Kergounadeach
Château de Kergounadeach
Château de Kergounadeach
Château de Kergounadeach
Château de Kergounadeach
Château de Kergounadeach
Château de Kergounadeach
Château de Kergounadeach
Château de Kergounadeach
Château de Kergounadeach
Château de Kergounadeach
Crédit photo : GO69 - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Bas Moyen Âge
Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1300
1400
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
XIIIe siècle
Origins of the Kergounadeach family
Vers 1504
Transition to Kerhoënt
1616
Marriage Rosmadec-Kerhoënt
Vers 1630
Construction of the current castle
1644
End of seigneurial privilege
1726
Sale to Mathieu Pinsonneau
19 juin 1926
Registration for Historic Monuments
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

The remains of the castle (Box BP 17): inscription by decree of 19 June 1926

Key figures

Nuz - Legendary Warrior Founded the line according to the legend of the dragon.
Sébastien II de Rosmadec - Builder of the castle Governor of Quimper, sponsor around 1630.
François de Kerhoënt - Lord and Military Lieutenant of the King during the League.
Mathieu Pinsonneau - Acquirer in 1726 Indirect responsibility for ruin.
Pétronille-Françoise de Pinsonneau - Heir and demanteller Daughter of Mathieu, involved in destruction.
Jean Picart - Seventeenth century gravity Author of the plans of the castle in 1632.

Origin and history

Kergounadeach Castle (or Kergornadec'h) is a 17th century building located in Cléder, Finistère, Brittany. Its ruins, marked by round towers and medieval-style machicolis, contrast with Renaissance-style fireplaces. According to the legend reported by Albert Le Grand and Marc de Vulson de La Colombière, the name of the castle ("the house of the man who does not flee") would come from a local warrior, Nuz, who helped Saint Pol Aurelien defeat a dragon on the island of Batz. As a reward, he received this land with hereditary privileges, such as presenting himself armed at religious ceremonies at the cathedral of Leon.

The family of Kergounadeach, one of the most influential of Leo after the Viscounts, was attested from the 13th century with Nuz, husband of Alix de Léon. Their descendants, like Guyomar (14th century), participated in the wars of the Succession of Brittany. The present castle was built around 1630 by Sébastien II de Rosmadec, on a square plan flanked by four towers, without ramparts or moats. Despite its medieval appearance, its interior architecture, with two central stairways, reflects a Renaissance search, close to the castles of Challuau or Chambord.

The estate changed hands several times: passed to the Kerhoënt by marriage in 1504 and then to the Rosmadec in 1616, it was sold in 1726 to Mathieu Pinsonneau after the death without heir of Sébastien III de Rosmadec. His widow and daughter, Pétronille-Françoise, were said to be responsible for its ruin in the 18th century, the stones used to build local churches. Remnants, listed as Historic Monuments in 1926, include towers, courtines, and adorned chimneys. A chapel, a pond, and a farmhouse were once complete.

The castle was surrounded by a quadrangular defensive enclosure, now partially extinct, and had defensive elements such as shooting openings and a round path on mâchicoulis. Inside, the symmetrical distribution around a large central hall and apartments in towers reflected a hierarchical organization. The fireplaces, richly decorated, varied according to the importance of the rooms. The engravings of Jean Picart (1632) and the descriptions of Marc de Vulson de La Colombière underline his architectural elegance, despite his anachronistic fortified appearance for the time.

The legend of Nuz and the privilege of the lords of Kergunadeach – standing up armed to the offering – were perpetuated until 1644. The castle, symbol of noble power, declined after its sale in 1726, its materials reused for religious constructions (Plounévez-Lochrist, Plouider). Today, its ruins, owned by the Budes family of Guébriant in 1878, bear witness to a military and residential heritage, marked by Breton history and feudal rivalries.

External links