Brittany has 4000 chateaux, manors and stately homes built in the Middle Ages, the Renaissance or subsequent centuries. Ravaged by feudal struggles during the Middle Ages, Brittany was the site of many bloody battles to repulse French or English invaders.
Over the centuries, a defensive ring of castles was constructed. These fortresses, always built in granite, are witnesses to an era and are distinguished by their architectural diversity.
The Chateaux of Great Families
The Residences and Chateaux of the Dukes of Brittany are marked by the history of the Duchy. At the time of the Renaissance, rich Breton aristocrats had luxurious residences built such as the Chateau de Kerjean in Finistère.
A few other great families also constructed defensive edifices on their land, but frequently they preferred small fortified manor houses.
Literary Chateaux
Many Breton chateaux are proud to have been owned or occupied by famous writers. The French writer François-René de Chateaubriand, for example, spent some of his childhood at the Chateau of Combourg, bought by his father in 1761. This Chateau, now known as “the Cradle of Romanticism”, is still owned by the family.
The Chateau of Rochers-Sévigné at Vitré is the place where the Marquise de Sévigné retired following the death of her husband. From there she wrote 267 letters to her daughter, Mme de Grigan, which can be read as the Lettres de Madame de Sévigné.
