Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Calmont gate, built between the 14th and 15th centuries, was part of the second enclosure of Vannes, built under the impulse of Duke John IV to extend and strengthen the defenses of the city to the south. It connected the closed town to the south-east district of Calmont, and was protected by a half-shaved tower, a double passageway (charter and pedestrian) commanded by arrowed drawbridges, and mâchicoulis now missing. Its third level, now destroyed, housed a room high under a pointed roof, similar to that of the Trompette Tower, with a covered round road.

The gate lost its strategic role after the opening of the Saint Vincent Gate in 1624, designed to facilitate access to the port. In the 17th century, a lock was built in front of the Calmont gate to regulate the flow of the river Vannes (la Marle), which passed under Gambetta Square via an underground canal. In the 18th century, a valve family turned the northern courtine into a promenade leading to a pavilion adjacent to Hotel Lagorce (former Hermine Castle). The gate, closed after 1624, was restored several times, notably in 1992, where a wooden bridge was installed to connect the intramural to a shady square.

Modern work has sought to preserve its accessibility and structural integrity. In 2018-2019, the old wooden bridge is replaced by a wrought iron structure, and facilities (jointing, paving, removing a walk) are made to make the site accessible to people with reduced mobility. The Calmont Gate, classified as a historic monument since 1927, illustrates the evolution of the valve fortifications, between medieval defensive function and contemporary urban reappropriation.

Its history reflects the dynamics of the city: demographic expansion under John IV, strategic decline after the integration of Brittany with France (1532), and transformations related to the urbanization of the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. The crowlets visible on the courtine bear witness to an old guard body in corbellation, while a sinking under the carriage door suggests the existence of a back door, possibly used for leaks or as a pier for small boats on the Marle.

The Calmont gate is part of a broader fortified complex, including elements such as the Trompette Tower (fired in 1597) or the Garenne spur (1626-1628), which protected the southeast access. Its classification as historical monuments, along with other parts of the ramparts, underscores its heritage importance in an urban enclosure among the best preserved in Brittany, despite the partial destructions of the 19th and 20th centuries.

External links