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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The castle of Guémené-sur-Scorff came into being in the 11th century, when the Guegant family built a first building, later replaced by a fortress belonging to the house of Rohan. During the War of the Succession of Brittany (1342-1369), the castle changed hands several times: taken by Charles de Blois in 1342, taken over by the English in 1342, then ceded to Jeanne de Rostrenen in 1369 before being returned to his legitimate owner, Jeanne de Beaumer, by Duke John IV. Jean I de Rohan became its owner in 1377 and added Gothic ovens ("baths of the queen") in 1380, dedicated to Jeanne de Navarre.

In the 15th century (1474-1486), Louis II de Rohan-Guémené razed the old castle to build a new building, demilitarized in 1522 by Louis IV and transformed into a palace. The land of Guémené was erected as a principality in 1570 by Charles IX. During the wars of the League (1589-1592), the castle was in turn occupied by the troops of the Duke of Mercœur, the royals, and then the Spanish. Louis XIII ordered its dismantling in the 1620s, leaving only remains such as the ramparts and the western gate.

During the Revolution, the castle was confiscated and converted into a prison, then a hospital and barracks in the 19th century. Sold to individuals (Declerq in 1814, Juttard-Lannivon in 1843), it houses the town hall from 1860. Most of the structures were demolished in 1926, with the exception of the Rohan Gate (15th century), classified in 1925, and ovens, sold in 1929 and restored and restored in 2008. The latter, decorated with sculptures depicting John I of Rohan and Jeanne of Navarre, testify to the past opulence of the site.

Today, the castle is reduced to fragments of ramparts, the gothic machicolis gate, and the ovens, the only preserved medieval structures. These remains, protected as historical monuments, recall its central role in Breton history, between feudal conflicts, architectural transformations and progressive decline.

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