TreeAlive
‹ Base Mérimée: Monuments historiques, France

Base Mérimée: Monuments historiques · France

Tour du château ou ancien donjon (ancienne prison)

Montfort-sur-Meu, Ille-et-Vilaine, France

The record

Designation
Historic monument, registered (inscrit)
Protection
inscrit MH
Extent of protection
Tour du château ou ancien donjon (ancienne prison) (cad. AD 74) : inscription par arrêté du 5 novembre 1926
Protection dates
1926/11/05 : inscrit MH
Type
château fort
Main period of construction
4e quart 14e siècle
Dates
1389
Ownership
propriété de la commune
Address
rue de Hermau
Commune
Montfort-sur-Meu
Département
Ille-et-Vilaine
Region
Bretagne
Country
France
Coordinates
48.13773, -1.95535
Mérimée reference
PA00090639

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

5 historical maps cover this location, the earliest the 1786 map "Bretagne." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).

Get directions ↗

This record on the Ministère de la Culture's POP platform ↗

The Ministère de la Culture's notice

Seul vestige du château construit au 14e siècle, la tour est une construction massive composée d'un sous-sol, d'un rez-de-chaussée et de trois étages. Construit au 11e siècle, le château avait été reconstruit de 1376 à 1389, après sa reprise aux Anglais par le duc Raoul VIII de Bretagne. Les murs de l'enceinte furent refaits de 1440 à 1480. Les deux salles basses de la tour donjon sont sur plan circulaire ; celles des étages sont octogonales. Le dernier étage, en retrait par rapport aux autres, domine une couronne de mâchicoulis à quatre ressauts qui soutenait autrefois un chemin de ronde. Le donjon est accosté de deux tourelles, dont l'une, carrée, renfermait les latrines, et l'autre, polygonale, contient l'escalier. Le château fut en partie détruit en 1627 par ordre de Richelieu.

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Ministère de la Culture, in French. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Ministère de la Culture; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

Sole vestige of the castle built in the 14th century, the tower is a massive construction composed of a basement, a ground floor and three storeys. Built in the 11th century, the castle had been rebuilt from 1376 to 1389, after its recovery from the English by Duke Raoul VIII of Brittany. The walls of the enclosure were remade from 1440 to 1480. The two lower halls of the keep tower are on a circular plan; those of the storeys are octagonal. The top storey, set back in relation to the others, dominates a crown of machicolations with four offsets which formerly supported a parapet walk. The keep is flanked by two tourelles, one of which, square, housed the latrines, and the other, polygonal, contains the staircase. The castle was partly destroyed in 1627 by order of Richelieu.

Nearby in the register

Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.

Base Mérimée, Ministère de la Culture, data last updated 2026-09-17, reused under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab). Record text is reproduced unchanged. Ministère de la Culture · Licence Ouverte 2.0
See your own family's places on a living map