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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Kerlevénan Castle, located in Sarzeau in Morbihan, was built in 1780 by the architect Jacques-François Jouanne for Marie-Joseph-Armand de Gouvello, local lord. The latter, married that same year to Catherine-Charlotte de Peyrac, a Creole of Santo Domingo, emigrated during the Revolution, resulting in the seizure and sale of the castle as a national good. The estate, including an unfinished French garden, two factories (Temple of Love and Chinese pavilion), and a basin, then passes into several hands.

Under the Restoration, the son of Marie-Joseph-Armand, Pierre-Armand-Jean-Vincent-Hippolyte de Gouvello, bought the castle in 1815 after his exile in Bavaria and England. It restores it in an Italian style, transforms the Temple of Love into a chapel, and develops an English garden with perspectives on the Gulf of Morbihan. His heir, Amédée de Gouvello, continued the work in the 20th century, partially re-creating a French-style parterre and involved in local social works, such as the Kerhar Rural Asylum Foundation.

Ranked a historical monument in 1982 for its facades, roofs, interior rooms and chapel, the castle and its park – combining 18th and 19th century heritage – are also protected as a classified natural site since 1965. The ensemble illustrates the evolution of architectural and landscape tastes, as well as the turbulent history of the Breton nobility between Ancient Regime and Restoration.

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