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Origin and history

The House of the Princes of Rohan, located at Pont-Scorff in Morbihan, is an old bourgeois house built in the sixteenth century, probably around 1511. It was initially said to have served as a house of justice and gabelle (salt tax office) for Jean de Rohan-Guémené, Grand Master of Brittany. Its Renaissance architecture in local granite, with carved windows and adorned fireplaces, reflects its status as a seigneurial building. A prison and an audience for the jurisdiction of Roche-Moisan, dependent on the principality of Rohan-Guémené, were built there.

At the end of the 16th century, the building became a foot-to-earth for Louis VI of Rohan-Guémené, bearing his current name. After the Revolution, it was converted into a residential complex before being acquired by the municipality in 1921. It became a town hall in 1924 and was listed as a historic monument in 1932. A major restoration between 1990 and 1992 preserved its original elements, such as the exposed beams, the engraved inscriptions on the lintels ("Semper nocuit differe paratis", "Perfect Content"), and a stone tower.

The legend evokes an underground linking the house to the castle of Leslé, used to transfer the convicted to their place of execution. The building, irregularly arranged in U, combines two houses with a bell gabelle and a prison with thick walls. The sculpted coats and mâcles, especially on a chimney, bear witness to the allegiance of the Rohan-Guémené. Today it is a communal property and still houses municipal services.

Sources mention inconsistencies in the exact date of construction: while some indicate 1511, others place its realization between 1565 and 1577, in two separate campaigns. The first concerned the north span with a rump roof, the second extending the west body ("the gabelle"). Materials, such as the tufeau for certain skylights, and mixed techniques (woodpan, cut stone) illustrate the architectural practices of the Breton Renaissance.

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