Château de Suscinio
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The Château de Suscinio is a French castle, built in the late Middle Ages, to be the residence of the Dukes of Brittany. It is located near the town of Sarzeau in the département of Morbihan, near the coast of the Atlantic ocean. The spectacular site is comprised of the moated castle, a ruined chapel, a dovecote, and a few ruined outbuildings.
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[edit] History
Designed to be a place of leisure, between the seaside and a forest full of game for hunting, the castle's first logis seigneurial (seigniorial house) dates from the beginning of the 13th century.
The castle was fortified and enlarged, at the end of 14th century, when the heirs of the duchy had to fight to keep their assets (Brittany was not yet part of France), after the castle was taken by Bertrand du Guesclin, the infamous Constable of France. John V and John VI constructed a new seigniorial residence block with a large, new corner tower known as the Tour Neuve. A casemate was added at the end of 15th century to protect artillery pieces.
The castle was then slowly abandoned by the aristocracy. In the early sixteenth century, the former great hall of the 14th century along the northern curtain-wall, was destroyed. The castle was then confiscated by the French crown under Francis I who offered it to one of his mistresses. In 1795, Sucinio was temporarily occupied by the royalists coming from Quiberon and heading to the north of the department. Written off in the 17th and 18th centuries, the castle was used off-and-on as a stone quarry until the Revolution.
During the Revolution, it was sold to a merchant who continued to sell the stones, and it fell into even greater ruin.
[edit] The restoration
The département of Morbihan bought it in 1965, from the family of Jules de Francheville who attempted to preserve and restore the castle, and began the restoration in earnest. The remains of a ducal chapel was found in the vicinity outside of the moats; its remarkable tiled floor has been carefully removed and restored and is now exhibited in a hall of the castle.
Nowadays, Suscinio Castle has again regained its allure of an intact medieval fortress, but major restoration work continues. Exhibitions and summer events attract many people. Since 1840, the castle has been listed as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- This article was initially translated from the Wikipedia article Château de Suscinio , specifically from this version.
