Page 132 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Brittany

130  BRIT T AN Y REGION B Y REGION

7 Château de Kerjean

In 1618, Louis XIII described this stately residence as “one of the most
beautiful in the kingdom”. It was built between 1566 and 1595 by
Louis Barbier, with the fortune that his uncle Hamon, a rich canon
of St-Pol-de-Léon, had amassed. It has the characteristics both of a
traditional Breton manor and of a French chateau. The architect in
charge of the project was clearly familiar with the architectural
treatises of the period and also with Renaissance decorative motifs.
He remains anonymous, but his style was to influence future buildings
in the Léon, including the churches at Berven and Bodilis and the
parish close at St-Thégonnec. Ransacked in 1793, Kerjean was sold
to the state in 1911. It now contains a fine collection of 17th- and Dormer Windows
18th-century furniture of the Léon. The richly decorated
dormer windows
relieve the plainness
Kitchen of the façades.
This large, 6-m (20-ft) high
room has two hearths and
a bread oven.

Pediment over the Central
Doorways Main
The doorways of the entrance
stable wing are topped by
pediments set with urns.

KEY
1 A museum of stonework is
housed in one of the guardrooms.
2 The wooden beams of the
chapel ceiling are decorated
with representations of the Four
Evangelists and Mary Magdalen.
3 Surviving walls of the part of
the chateau destroyed by fire in
1755. It contained the armoury.
4 In the projection room, a film . Main Entrance
traces the history of the chateau. Elaborate ornamentation, with caryatids and
volutes, crowns the main entrance.
For hotels and restaurants see pp226–7 and pp238–9

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