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Origin and history

The castle of Kerampuil, located less than one kilometer from the city centre of Carhaix-Plouguer in the Finistère, is built around 1760 for Charles-Robert de Saisy, Count of Kerampuil and adviser to the Parliament of Brittany. The building, of a regular plan, includes a central house body and two overflowing wings. He remained in the family of Saisy until the Revolution, where he was sold as a national good, before being returned to the Restoration. In 1938, the family handed it over to the commune on condition that it served as a hospital, causing the loss of its original interiors, with the exception of a wooden staircase with double revolution.

The chapel, erected in 1840 for the Viscount of Saisy, houses remarkable elements such as a high altar and a baldachin from the Ursulines chapel of Carhaix. The castle changed hands several times: property of the city in 1999, then bought by the Brittany Region in 2010. It has now been protected as historical monuments since 1965 for its facades and roofs. A major restoration, completed in 2021 for €4.36 million, allowed regional offices and a conference room to be set up.

The site is famous for hosting the Festival des Vieilles Charrues, a historic wink at the "Festival of the Five Hundred Plows" organized in 1833 by Emmanuel Joseph de Seizy de Kerampuil to promote local agriculture. The estate also includes ancillary buildings, such as a stable, a concierge house, and an accommodation centre run by the association ALES, serving as a Diwan high school on weekdays and hosting for hikers on weekends.

The name Kerampuil comes from Breton ker an puilh, meaning "abundance village". The present castle replaced an older building, located 400 meters southwest, inhabited in the 16th century by local notables such as Gilles de Kerampuil, canon of Saint-Trémeur. The family of Saisy, owner of the site since the 14th century, marked the history of the site until its final disposal in the 20th century.

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